Spark
by MyFictionalFantasy
Summary: Getting married was a choice Lucy and Erik had both agreed to whole-heartedly, but after three years of strenuous commitment, their biggest enemies turn into each other. With the help of their newly found marriage counsellor, they try to relight the dim spark of their relationship before it's extinguished forever. Originally submission for CoLu week but I suck at updating.
1. Eternity

I decided to give CoLu week a shot.

You can decide whether it was a mistake or not.

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Eternity**

 _"Are you ready Lu?" the blonde grinned nervously, a lump in her throat. She nodded eagerly, reassuring herself rather than her friend._

 _"Yeah I think so…" Refraining from biting her manicured nail, she bit her bottom lip instead, pacing. "But, Cana, what if he has second thoughts?" She paced, "What if I'm not good enough?" She scratched her palms with her thumbs, "What if I turn into an ugly old hag and he wants a divorce?" her breaths were coming in fast and short. "What if–"_

 _"Lucy!" Cana grasped the blondes shoulders, shaking her back and forth, careful not to ruin the teams breathtaking work. "Don't do this now; Erik is standing at the altar, possibly more nervous than you are. Stop pacing back and forth like a mad man or you'll snap your heels." Lucy nodded, chomping down on her lip, "And stop biting your lip or you'll look like you just ate a kitten…" Lucy shook her head, wrapping her hands around her waist. Cana cocked her head to the side, "You never know with Erik though, could be a turn on." She winked at the bride to be as the blonde laughed._

 _"Thanks, Cana." They smiled warmly, wrapping their arms around the other._

 _"Five minutes until show time." The unusually sober woman reminded. To Lucy though, five minutes had never gone faster._

 _She heard the music start playing, and the screeches of chairs as people stood, awaiting her arrival. She took calming breaths, her best friend standing beside her, his arm linked with hers._

 _"Thanks for doing this, Natsu." The pink-haired man grinned smugly._

 _"It would have been weird if it were Gray." He reasoned, "Just don't go around calling me dad or I won't speak to you again." He threatened. Lucy laughed, he always knew how to make light of the situation._

 _She walked down the aisle steadily, somehow not falling over; she assumed it was Natsu holding her in place though. She smiled when she saw her future husband, a content smile on his face as he looked at her intensely with what she could only describe as wonder. Her nerves dissipated into nothing as she stared into his purple eyes. Time meant nothing in the moment, all that mattered was him. Most of the ceremony was a blur; she took a deep breath repeating the words, almost whispering,_

 _"_ _I, Lucy take you, Erik, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all of eternity." he smiled at her warmly, love and adoration the only recognisable emotions. As he finished speaking the long awaited 'I do.' She slid the ring onto his finger, the gold band reflecting the sun's rays. She mainly paid attention to the vows, how his voice was smooth speaking them, as if he hadn't practised them three times a day for the last month._

 _"I, Erik take you, Lucy, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all of eternity." She barely registered the words of the man to her side, her answer clear in the blur of an anxious ceremony. She didn't need the priest to ask, she knew her answer like the back of her hand._

 _"I do." Before the old man could command Erik, his lips were pressed to hers, both smiling like idiots at the applauds and cat calls._

Lucy awoke with a start, groaning as the Sunday morning blasted her senses. She turned her head away from the clear glass separating her from the outside world, reminding herself to close the curtains tonight even though she wouldn't anyway. She shivered, her skin decorating itself with goose bumps. She rubbed her arms, hoping to change her appearance from plucked chicken to attractive female.

She looked to her right, a lump of blankets loosely resembling a human, a tuft of maroon hair sticking out of the cacoon. Bending her neck, she saw the quilt wrapping tightly around her husband's head, a lion mane of blankets. A thin trail of drool leaking out of his mouth, she cringed.

"You're a pig." She shook her head in disgust. She turned her body, looking away from the nauseating sight.

Erik cracked his eye open, staring at the back of the blondes matted hair. He raked his eyes up her body, almost laughing at her sad attempt at keeping herself warm; her body curled into a fetal position, rubbing her arms and legs. "Can't deny that, although, I'm lucky," Lucy scoffed, laughing dryly.

"How is that?" she inquired. He smiled sweetly,

"At least I'm not a cow." She turned to face him, glaring. He raised an eyebrow, "Sorry." He mumbled. She looked at him warily, "Got my information wrong. You're not a cow, you're a horse." He stood up dropping the blankets to the floor, "That would be the only explanation for the long face." He walked to the bathroom door, already feeling his wife's hateful gaze on his back. Turning, he looked at her, tapping his tooth, "Let's not forget the buck teeth."

Why she married him was a mystery she was sure the Gods didn't have the answer to. She got out of bed, starting to cook breakfast. She moved sluggishly around the kitchen, a tasty omelette in the frying pan on the stove. She heard Erik's telltale sigh and the air pushing out of the lounge as he sunk into it, the TV flicking on. What a dick. She was slaved over the counter cooking breakfast while he sat on the lounge watching _Everybody Loves Raymond._

She couldn't remember the last time they had said _'I love you.'_ to each other, and she would probably laugh in his face if he did. He really was a pig. She hated her husband.

She looked at the one thing she hated almost more than him; the top cupboard of their kitchen, the resting place of the salt and pepper, the necessity of eggs. She looked at the wooden door with determination; she could do this. She jumped, her hand missing the handle completely. She jumped again. And again. _And again._ "Struggling a bit there?" She heard Erik call. She craned her neck, looking out of the kitchen into the lounge room. "Need help?" she sighed in relief.

"Help would be great, Erik." He looked at her in boredom,

"Get a stool." She grit her teeth, wondering why she had ever thought he would help in the first place. Getting a seat from their small table, she dragged it across the ground, deliberately making it screech, knowing it would set Erik's ears on fire, it wasn't her fault he had heightened senses.

Propping the piece of wood against the wall, she slowly hopped on, careful not to lose her balance. She straightened her legs slowly; opening the cupboard, she successfully retrieved the salt and pepper. She hopped down, dragging the chair along the tiles, grinding her teeth. "I should have married a chair!" She yelled, "It's more reliable than you!" his eyes snapped to hers,

"Well it gets more ass than me!" Dirty fucking rotten pig. Lucy had a sudden idea as she stared at the man from the kitchen. She looked back over to the frypan, the burner turned off so it wouldn't over-cook. She took two plates from the bottom cupboard; she would have extra breakfast today.

She slid the omelette from the pan, folding it in half neatly, she cracked her necessities on, smiling; she would enjoy this. She took a pair of tongs in one hand, the empty plate in the other; she pressed her foot to the plastic piece at the bottom of their rubbish bin, the lid flying open. She grinned darkly.

Lucy sat the two plates at the table; they unfortunately sat across from each other. She smiled, "Erik, morning breakfast is ready." She heard him grumbling as he took a seat across from her, rubbing his eyes. He picked up his fork, about to stab it into his food before he saw what his _lovely_ wife had prepared for him.

"What the fuck is this?" Lucy smiled innocently,

"You're a pig, Erik, you said so yourself. Pigs eat scraps." She explained as if he were a child. He looked down at his plate in distaste,

"This is not food."

"Oh sure it is." She took his fork from his hand, "Let's see how many vegetables we can spot, okay? You can count on your fingers if it makes it easier." she didn't wait for him to reply, "Look right there." She pointed the prongs of his fork at an almost unrecognisable piece of fruit. "That right there is a banana." Her voice reminded him of when she would give lollies to trick-or-treaters, he felt his eye twitch, "Those are the grapes that went bad a few days ago." Her eyes widened in wonder, "Would you look at that… There's even a piece of steak from last night's dinner. You sure scored big tonight."

Erik was trying his hardest not to bash his head into the table. He was also trying not to inhale the putrid scent wafting up his nostrils, fearing he would be sick. Not that throwing up the contents of his stomach would make his life any easier; his wife would make him endure the same torture for weeks. "Why haven't I divorced you yet?"

His wife mocked hurt, her eyes widening, fake tears gathering. "How could you ask such an insensitive thing?" she waved her hands in front of her eyes, she shook her head smiling such a fake smile it made him want to roll his eyes, "You haven't divorced me yet because you love me." she nodded her head, praising herself. He scoffed,

"I'm pretty sure that's called wishful thinking." Lucy rolled her eyes, all playfulness gone, her face serious.

"No, Erik," she put her fork down, "a vow is a promise, and you know first-hand what happens when you break a promise." She smiled sweetly, but he could see the malice in her eyes. "Or need I remind you." No, he didn't need reminding. The visual image accompanied by the threat made him sit in silence. He didn't need his other eye removed.

She finished her breakfast in silence as he glared at his wife. She walked into the bedroom, presumably to change. He looked at the plate in front of him, repulsed. He looked at her plate, nothing but a few stray grains of pepper. His wife opened the door, walking out much more presentable.

Lucy picked up her handbag, walking to the front door, "You might be able to cook something if you use your brain." She paused, "Well what you have left of it." He removed his eyes from the slop before him,

"Yeah too many years of your shit would do that to someone's organs."

Lucy closed her eyes, calming herself. She reopened them, the brown depths cold, she smiled sweetly, "Goodbye, unfortunately I will return later." She told him.

"Or never." He shrugged.

"I wouldn't want to be the cause of someone starving to death because they don't know how to turn on an oven." She reasoned, "Plus I don't think it would look great on a resume." She slammed the door, leaving a clueless man behind.

He stood up, walking over to the bin, putting the scraps in before shutting the lid. He opened the fridge, looking at its contents. He went back into his shared bedroom, picking up his phone. Walking back to the kitchen he looked at the colourful letters spelling _Google._

 **How do you make an om** – he paused, looking up at the fridge in question, "How the fuck do you spell omelette?"

Lucy looked at her saviour, an exasperated sigh escaping her. She sunk her head further into her arms, "I hate him, Cana. I hate my husband." The brunette looked at her friend thoughtfully. "We don't get along; we're constantly bickering over the most stupid things. I'm always doing the cooking and cleaning, and he refuses to help." she looked up in sorrow. "He wouldn't even get the salt and pepper from the top cupboard." She looked at the oddly silent bartender. " _Help!_ " she whimpered.

Cana looked at her friend in worry; she poured herself another drink, silently offering some to the blonde, who politely shook her head. She sipped her drink slowly, swirling it in her cup when she wasn't sculling the beverage. "Have you ever thought of trying marriage counselling?" Lucy scoffed,

"No. Even if we did consider it there's no way Erik would agree to it." She put her hands on her back, arching her spine, sighing in satisfaction when she heard and felt multiple pops.

"How can you be so sure though?" Cana chewed on a peanut, "I never thought Bacchus would go to that sort of thing, he did." Lucy looked at her friend in surprise,

"You go to couples therapy?" Cana licked her fingers, nodding,

"Remember when me and Bacchus went through that rough patch?" Lucy nodded; she remembered very clearly the nights where her friend would turn up on her doorstep at ungodly hours, completely and utterly smashed. "Well we didn't get through that by sitting on our asses." Lucy sighed, looking down at the counter,

"Give me a drink, Cana."

Lucy sat in silence, guzzling the drinks she was given one after the other while Cana tended to other guests.

" _Cana!_ " She whined, the brunette looked at her friend and paled; a drunk Lucy was a tiresome Lucy. "Where council?" Cana looked at her blankly,

"I'm not Google, Lucy. Try widening your search." She answered sarcastically. Lucy pouted,

"Where marriage council." She slurred. Cana raised her eyebrows.

"Where do I go for couples therapy?" The blonde nodded vigorously, Cana took a beer holder, knowing Lucy would forget if she verbally told her. Writing down details on the back, she handed it to Lucy, her eyes hardening, "Keep this safe, Lucy. Don't lose it." Lucy gave her a thumbs up, standing she put the holder in her hoodies pocket.

"All safe." Cana walked around the bar, steadying the woman,

"Let's get you home."

Cobra looked at the kitchen mess in clear disappointment. He would never admit it out loud, but he honestly had no idea how his wife managed to keep their house so clean. He cooked scrambled eggs, _in the microwave_ , and he still couldn't fathom how the mess was made. Most of the utensils he used he didn't know the names of, only seeing his wife use a handful of times. He looked at the mess; piles of plates and bowls and cups. He looked to his right, when the hell did he use a tomato? He came to an internal debate; should he wait for his wife to arrive for her to clean, or do it himself? He weighed the pros and cons, his wife would be pissed at him either way. He sat on the lounge, elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands.

He turned the TV on and sighed tiredly. The opening of his favourite show playing: _Raymond Romano playing as Raymond Barone leaping across the living room, locking the front door in a mad dash against time. His mother's hand reaching through the mail slot, touching his head firmly, a look of dread sinking in._ He adjusted his body, leaning back into the lounge, wondering if he had already seen this episode. He lay on his side after grabbing a blanket from the floor; the kitchen could wait. After all, it was a marathon this afternoon.

After a few laughs and eight beers, Erik heard the doorbell ring. He ignored it at first; silently telling whoever was there to piss off. The unknown person kept knocking. Erik groaned, standing up. "Alright! I'm coming! I'm coming!" He yelled, the knocking ceased. He threw open the door with a scowl; his frown deepening at what stood in his doorway. Lucy slumped over her best friend's shoulder, giggling. His wife looked up at him, her eyes widening in happiness.

"Erik!~" she cheered. She unlatched herself from Cana, running to him. He took several steps back, holding her shoulder at arm's length so she wouldn't hug him; drunk Lucy was a cuddler.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically. Cana rolled her eyes as the door was slammed in her face.

He guided her to the lounge carefully, not wanting to break any furniture. He sat her down before wrapping the blanket around her. He backed into the lounge, sitting, careful to leave distance between them. "Erik~!" he cringed, the alcohol in her breath almost unbearable. Lucy frowned at him. "Erik," He looked at his spouse in distaste.

"What?" He asked bitterly. Lucy turned away, her knees in her chest.

"Did I make you angry?" she whispered.

"Yes." She sunk further into the lounge's corner.

"Sorry…"

"It's not like you'll remember any of it tomorrow." He reminded, she only nodded. He turned his head back to the TV.

"…Can I have a hug?" She asked timidly.

"No."

"Can I give you a hug?" he turned his head towards her; a bad decision, her lips were trembling, her brown orbs were doing what he could call 'puppy dog eyes'. He looked at her, running his tongue along his teeth. He nodded stiffly. Grinning she tackled him in a hug, her head resting on his shoulder, his hand lay limp at his sides, not at all committed to the embrace.

"Erik…" the one-eyed man only hummed in acknowledgement, that was enough for Lucy. "…You know I love you, right?" he froze slightly, his breath hitching. His next words were chosen carefully.

"…You don't exactly make it very clear…" Lucy nodded, burying her head in the pillow.

"I do… even when I say I don't. You're just an idiot with his head to far up his ass to notice." He would admit, his wife was exceptionally good at ruining sentimental moments.

"And you're a perfectionist that takes people's eyes when they break a promise." He grumbled.

"Promises are important to me." He nodded his head, "Besides you look way more badass with one eye." Erik snickered, a proud smirk on his face,

"Hell yeah I do."

Lucy eventually fell asleep, and Erik remained watching the TV. As the last episode ended he pulled himself way from Lucy, he cracked his back and toes and made his way to their bedroom. He wasn't going to sleep on the lounge, he had better blankets on his bed and he got cold quickly. He would've maybe cuddled with Lucy more, but he wasn't going to wake up to her morning hangover breath if he could help it. He got in bed, wrapping the blanket tightly around himself, smiling stupidly at the warmth radiating in his cacoon.

Erik was peacefully sleeping, not a care in the world for anything else. Sleep was as important as eating and drinking, if not more. It was something he valued and treasured, it was not something he liked interrupted. Unfortunately though, his wife didn't share the same opinion for rest as he did.

So when he was awoken by a pain filled scream coming from somewhere in his house he may or may not have tripped over himself and the blankets in his hurry to investigate. He may or may not have had adrenalin pumping through every vein in his body. He may or may not have sighed in relief when his wife was in no harm. He did though gulp when his wife turned to him glaring, a look of horror on her face.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY KITCHEN!" he remained silent, looking at his wife in question. Noticing his gaze she side stepped, throwing her arm in the direction of the kitchen. He looked in the room, realisation dawning. Oh that… "Erik," She breathed, she calmed herself, "You need to get out of this house before I go ape-shit." He nodded, hurrying to get his clothes on before leaving his wife to the mess he had manifested.

Despite him being an outright prick, he at least knew when to just do as his wife said. This was one of those times.

Lucy scrubbed the oven door, surprised she hadn't worn a hole in the cloth. Oh wait, she had. She got off the floor, her knees cracking. She looked around the now clean kitchen, sighing in satisfaction. Feeling prideful in her work, she took off the rubber cloves, rinsing them in the sink. Laying on the lounge she stuck her hands in her pocket, feeling something stiff, she pulled it out.

She lifted it in front of her head, arms extended. She looked at the coaster in confusion, on a whim she flipped. She saw some small writing; she sat up, inspecting her friend's hand.

 _Mirajane Strauss_

 _Building 1, Fairy Industries_

 _Marriage Councillor_

She blinked, wondering how she was even going to suggest this to her husband. She groaned, "Why?" she whimpered, "How?" she fell back down onto the lounge, her hands dropping to the side. "I hate Mondays."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter, reviews are appreciated.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**

 **Tomorrow's chapter will be _Excuses._**


	2. Excuses

Special thanks to those people who followed the story ~ **vaivai84, KrispiKreme, Nillaney, papalogia.**

Thank you **guest 4** (Creative name by the way) for leaving a review. Not sure if it was bad or good, but thanks anyway, I guess.

Thanks **papalogia** for writing your review, I'm glad you liked the chapter, I was stressing over it a bit, so it was nice to have the reassurance.

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Excuses**

 _"Fairy Industries, Kinana speaking."_ A soft voice answered. Lucy sighed in agitation, her best friend standing in front of her, watching her every move.

"I would like to make an appointment with…" she looked at the beer pad, "Mirajane Strauss." She heard some typing in the back ground,

 _"Okay, Ma'am,"_ the woman paused, _"Miss Strauss is very busy as of late, the earliest appointment is three months from now."_ Lucy looked up to Cana, whom was vigorously nodding her head,

"Uh… yes please…um what dates?" She heard the woman hum,

 _"The sixth and the eighteenth of July."_ Lucy bit her lip,

"Can I please book on the eighteenth."

 _"And your name would be?"_

"Oh… right, um, Lucy Heartfilia." She heard the woman type some more, at an admirably quick rate too.

 _"Okay, Miss Heartfilia, four o 'clock on the eighteenth."_

"Mrs." She corrected instinctively, "It's uh Mrs." She said awkwardly. Lucy coughed, "I'm getting marriage counselling." She informed.

 _"Ooh."_ She heard the woman speak in realisation. After some more typing, she started talking again _"Okay, all fixed. I will see you then Mrs Heartfilia."_ The voice on the other end died out.

Lucy peered up to her friends gaze, "Don't give me that face." Lucy complained. Cana looked at her companion like a lost child.

"I'm glad I didn't get you that job at the tele-communications office." Cana sighed, "You would have been fired on day one." Cana sipped her wine, a glow in her eyes, "God I miss that job."

"I'm sure if worse comes to worse you can always get your job back." Lucy reassured. Cana shook her head, disagreeing with the blonde,

"No, Lucy, it's a very selective occupation." She insisted. Lucy blinked at her.

"Cana, all you need is a sexy voice and innuendos to turn a guy on. You do that every day at the bar." Cana glared at the ex-heiress.

"It's a job many aspire to have." She argued,

"Yeah let me think." Lucy smirked, "Perhaps single chicks who want to find a husband," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "named Bacchus." Cana looked at her friend in slight embarrassment,

"I'm sorry I didn't have the cliché good-girl-meets-bad-boy love like you did." Lucy blinked, looking at her friend in confusion,

"What?" she said finally, "Me and Erik, or 'Cobra' as he was back then, met – well formally – in a prison cell." Cana looked at her in bewilderment,

"That's not the story I heard!" Lucy looked straight ahead in thought; she snapped her eyes back up to the brunette to her right.

"What story did you hear?" Cana looked at her friend seriously,

"The story everyone at your wedding heard." Lucy looked at her dumbly,

"You know for a fact I was too drunk to remember any of the speeches." Cana laughed a little,

"You honestly don't remember?" Lucy shook her head. "Macbeth gave his Best Man speech, he talked about how you too met, how it was love at first sight." Lucy laughed stupidly,

"And how did we meet exactly." She asked. Cana sighed, taking a long sip of her drink,

"You were both at school, he crashed into you and knocked your books everywhere and as he helped you pick them up, your hands grazed, a connection was made." She scratched the mosquito bite on her arm, "You know all that cliché shit." Lucy shook her head, hysterically laughing.

"N–o!" she wheezed, "God no!" Cana rubbed her friends back as she started violently coughing.

Once Lucy calmed down, she looked her friend in the eye, trying her hardest to stop her lips twitching in humour. "I think it's time I told you the real story." Cana nodded,

"Yeah it would be appreciated." Lucy cleared her throat dramatically.

"Once upon a time, there lived a lonely girl." She started.

"Cut the shit Lucy."

"Alright, alright." She agreed, "You know I was an heiress before I came to Magnolia, yes?" Cana nodded, "Well I was a runaway." She cracked her neck, "At the time I had been registered as a missing person so I had to kind of… be subtle?" her friend thought over her sentence and nodded, "Well Erik had just assaulted someone." Cana raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sheer bluntness of Lucy's words, "He was running from a particularly… uh, bigger police officer, so it wasn't too hard to get away. At this point in time I was at a traffic light playing candy crush." Cana shook her head.

"He got in the car and told me to act natural. Which was kind of hard to do when a man who looks like he was just beaten to death hops in for a ride." Lucy paused shaking her head, "To be quite fair, I don't think the knife was necessary." She raised her hands to prove her point. Cana choked on her drink, patting her chest as she stared at her friend in shock.

"He gave me directions to this club, the Oración Seis, where Angel and Midnight work." Cana nodded systematically, looking warily at the blonde. "Well, I was driving there and I was pulled over by that same police officer." She laughed dryly, "Yeah despite being 'Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia my luck is pretty shitty." Cana nodded with a laugh.

"I've never met anyone that owed the lottery company money." Lucy glared,

"That was a misunderstanding, you know that."

"Sure…"

"Anyway, this cop pulled me over saying that the car I was driving was stolen,"

"And was it?"

"Yes, but that's not the point." She spoke curtly, "The point is the cop recognised Erik, was convinced I was his accomplice, and took us back to the station." She took a sip of her lemonade, "When we got there, after much deliberation in a cell, we decided to grab a beer together." Lucy sipped her wine, "And you know what happened from there." Cana gulped the rest of her drink, she swallowed before laughing,

"Yeah, okay." She snorted, "That's better than the cliché I guess." Lucy grinned.

"Yeah I agree."

The two sat in comfortable silence, each thinking of different things, "So, how do you suggest I convince Erik to go to counselling?" Cana clicked her tongue in thought, absentmindedly staring at the wall. She sat up from the lounge, pouring herself another glass of wine. She laid down wordlessly, her back rested against the arm of the sofa, drink in hand. A devious smile etched its way onto her face.

"Don't tell him its counselling."

* * *

Erik stared at his wife as she paced back and forth through their living room, a happy smile on her face. As a body guard he was paid to watch others behaviour, analyse them as though they were a threat. As he watched his wife he realised something was definitely not right. Her eyes held warmth like they normally did, but he could see the slight glint of mischief hidden under her chocolate irises. "You're chipper." Lucy paused in her pace; she turned to him, beaming.

"There's a party on tonight at the bar. I thought you'd want to come."

"Too chipper." He finished. He watched as Lucy's smile almost unnoticeably fell.

"Well you haven't seen everyone in a while; I thought you might want to come with me. After all it is Sawyer's birthday." He narrowed his eyes,

"Sawyer's birthday is next week." Lucy raised her eyebrow, silently challenging him.

"Yes it is," she agreed, "but he's going away next week with Meredy, so we're celebrating tonight." She looked at him innocently, "Don't tell me you forgot."

Erik sighed in irritation. He watched as a smirk, blind to the naked eye, appeared on her red-glossed lips.

"I'm already going to see him on the weekend." He reminded, "There's no point in seeing him tonight if I'm going to celebrate the same thing in three nights time." He watched in hidden arrogance as his wife scowled, her pacing beginning once more as she lectured him on the importance of friendship.

"You know what then?" he stayed silent, raising his eyebrow. "I'm gonna come with you."

"You're what?"

"You heard me." she smirked, "If you're going to see him this weekend, I'll come with."

"That's not necessary."

"Oh, but I think it is. After all, Erik, your friends are my friends."

"You're much too manipulative for a simple party." he narrowed his eyes, smirking, "My dear wife doesn't know how to do anything without influencing the people around her." He smiled victoriously, "She must be planning something."

Lucy put her finger to her lip, faking thought, "I never believed you would be wrong, Erik." He shook his head slowly,

"I never believed you would take my eye, but that still happened." Lucy feigned hurt,

"I never believed my husband had a thing for snakes." He looked at her in disgust. She only looked at him sincerely, "It's a real problem, Erik."

"I may be a dick, Lucy, but I'd never cross that line." Lucy sighed, sitting next to him; she put a hand on his knee. He looked at the appendage suspiciously,

"I guess Macbeth still hasn't told you." She shook her head sadly, "Drunken mistakes, Erik, they happen to everyone." He paled,

"…What?"

"It's okay, I didn't leave you after that, I won't leave you now." She stood, grabbing her bag, "I'm going to the bar to actually see my friends." She slid on her running shoes. "You know, more than once a year." She took her keys from the counter. She opened the door, she shut it behind her as she walked out. "Just order something for dinner! We got paid!"

"What happened!"

* * *

"He's not buying it, Cana." The blonde tapped the buttons on the machine furiously, a thin trail of sweat running down her neck as she jogged on the treadmill. "He knows something's up, and you know him. When he believes something," she sighed in exasperation, "he believes something." Cana ran alongside the busty blonde, her flowy hair tied away from her face.

"You just need to up your game." She suggested, "Or annoy him to the point that he has to come." She grinned. "That should work." Lucy groaned.

"Although I appreciate your opinion, Cana, it's Erik we're talking about here." She took a sip of water from her blue bottle; "If I annoy him, he'll annoy me." she shook her head, imagining the events that could follow. "And if I annoy him too much, he'll know something is up."

"You're in quite the pickle aren't you, My Dear." Lucy nodded grimly,

"The biggest, mouldiest, rat infested jar of pickles, you mean." She watched as Cana's machine inclined, "How did you get Bacchus to agree?" Cana looked at her friend from the corner of her eye,

"I have my ways…" she said after a pause. Lucy looked at her friend in confusion before the words clicked,

"Ooh."

"You could always bribe him." Cana said. Lucy scoffed,

"With what?" Cana looked her up and down, raising her brows. Lucy whimpered, "I don't know Cana." She made a face of disgust, "I just can't get the snake image out of my head." Cana grimaced,

"Just…" she paused, "Think of Zac Efron or something." She rushed, "Or Channing Tatum, especially in Magic Mike. You'll get through it that way." Lucy scrunched her nose in distaste,

"Alright, alright."

* * *

Lucy was pretty confident in her body. She had always had a great figure, big boobs, small waist, flaring hips, long legs. She had won a beauty pageant her father had put her in when she was fifteen, and could pretty much pull off any outfit.

But, as her husband stared at her blankly as she dressed in her nicest lingerie, her make up done, her look sultry. She felt an unknown feeling of self-doubt grow in her stomach. Her husband looked away from her, shimmying his coat off his broad shoulders. His eye stayed to her form as he place his coat on the chair.

He turned to her, staring at her shamelessly, his eye finally resting on her face, "Nice look…" she moved her eyes from the floor, looking at him almost shyly. She raised her left eyebrow in silent question, he sighed, "I don't see why not." He cleared the distance between them in three long strides, his lips crashing heatedly against hers.

He picked her up from the ground, carrying her to their room. As they progressed, only one thought repeated in her mind, 'Channing Tatum.'

* * *

"Erik, do you want to come out for a bit, I'm grabbing some food." Lucy asked in a hurry, she slid her flats on, running her hand through her hair.

"I'm good." He replied. Lucy stomped her foot, her temper flaring,

"Am I an embarrassment to be around or something?" She yelled. Erik raised an eyebrow,

"When you stomp your foot like a child, yes." She glared aat him, rooting him in place.

"We haven't gone somewhere together in more than a month, you refuse to even help me with the groceries, you stopped coming to the gym with me!" she listed, "Tell me what the hell I'm doing wrong!" she commanded.

"Yelling at nine in the morning to start." Lucy appeared to ignore him.

"Am I not a good wife?" she whispered, her eyes filled with tears.

Erik sat silently, his mind blank and jaw on his lap. His eye grew wide in the frenzy of craziness. He had never acquired the skill needed to calm a female of her tears. Even when he experienced Angel cry, he hadn't known how to stop her. The situation was more awkward than having to buy tampons for Lucy. He was sure the entire male population would agree. He waved his hands in a sad attempt at calming her down. "I would love to come to the grocery store with you!" he insisted, nodding his head a little too much.

Lucy wiped her eyes, her lips trembling. "Don't worry, Erik, I know you'd prefer not to be seen with me. It's OK," she walked to the door, opening it dejectedly, "if I were you I wouldn't want to be seen with me either." She closed the door slowly.

Erik stared at the door in frustration, already cutting of the self-pitying thoughts. He kicked the lounge, running a hand through his maroon hair. "Shit."

Once outside the blonde wiped her tears, guilt tripping her husband was bad yes, but, she honestly didn't care. He should be doing things with her anyway, this was just a sure way to accomplish that. Lucy sighed in distaste as her nose began to run. With her limited resources she managed to stop the flow of the salty goo.

Lucy stood in front of the women's care section of her super market. She stared at the offending product as she took out her phone quickly, checking her calendar. She raised a hand to her mouth, sighing in disbelief. "Fuck..."

* * *

Lucy was prided in her ability to hide things from her husband. He had yet to find out what her friends had dubbed 'the snake incident', which honestly she was surprised about. He hadn't figured out the drink issue either; an issue she was still thoroughly confused about.

It had been only a day since her revolution and she had figured out the perfect way to break it to her husband and closest friend. "Did you want to come with me to Cana's? She invited us 'round for dinner."

"I'd love to." He forcefully smiled. Standing he put on his jacket, following his 'much loved' wife.

Lucy smirked gleefully as she walked in front of him; she slowed her pace, resting her head on his shoulder. He froze momentarily, a stiff arm wrapping around her waist. She smiled peacefully, a content hum reverberating in her throat.

The two knocked on the door of the two drunks, waiting patiently as Cana yelled at her husband. Cana opened the door, a smile on her face, acting as though the yelling match between her and Bacchus hadn't occurred. "Welcome, it's pleasure to have you here, please make yourselves at home." Erik and Lucy simultaneously raised their left eyebrow, looking at Cana differently. The joint act getting an eyebrow raise in return. Bacchus came to the door, disturbed by the silence. Noticing the intense gazes he also raised his eyebrow.

After a long period of time the eyebrow raised group made their way inside the house. They sat at the table, telling stories and complaining about various things. Cana excused herself, coming back a short time later with a bottle of wine. "Would anyone care for a drink?" she asked politely.

"What's up with the five class manners all of a sudden?" Lucy asked. Cana sighed in a tired manner, Bacchus laughed,

"She's meeting my parents for the first time next week." He said, "They're a bit… luxurious." Lucy nodded with a laugh,

"So we're practice then?" Cana answered warily,

"…For lack of a better word, yes." She looked at the wine again. "Who wants some?" she grinned. Erik raised his beer as a no and Lucy politely declined. Cana narrowed her eyes, "No wine?" she asked. Lucy smiled, but shook her head,

"No wine." She repeated.

"You always have wine." The brunette said suspiciously, "Especially your favourite." Lucy looked at her plate, her head tilted slightly. Erik narrowed his eye.

"I can't."

"I need a drinking buddy," At her husband's protest she quickly added, "that's female."

"Well it'll be awhile." Lucy answered with a tight smile.

"For how long." Cana asked impatiently, pouring her drink. Lucy hummed nervously, twiddling her thumbs.

"Like… mmm… nine months or something." The room paused, Cana's glass steadily overflowing with wine, she blinked at the blonde. Bacchus froze, his piece of steak halfway to his mouth, his eyes wide open in shock. Lucy looked over to Erik, smiling softly. "We're having a baby." She whispered. She watched as his face broke out into a huge grin, she didn't have time to prepare as he kissed her warmly. A bubbly feeling filling her.

She felt happy – relieved – tears ran down her face. She hadn't seen Erik so happy since they got married. She smiled into the kiss. The muffled voices and scurrying only faded voices in her moment of happiness.

"Are you alright?" his voice brought Lucy out of her thoughts. She nodded her head,

"Yeah," she said, "I'm just happy."

* * *

"Come on, Erik!" said man stumbled over to the wardrobe, smacking his toe into the bed, letting out a curse. He pulled on his clothes, slamming the bedroom door open,

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

"The appointments at one o'clock, it's twelve-thirty now!" She reminded, "Get your ass moving!" he slid on his third layer, meeting his wife at the door. He let out an exasperated sigh,

"Ready." Lucy looked him up and down,

"Shoes, Erik." He let out a curse, pulling his left shoe on, hopping out the door. She let out a content sigh, following after her unusually boisterous husband.

The walked down the street, Erik wrapping an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her when he pleased. He absentmindedly hummed a tune; she smiled, looking up at her husband in adoration. He looked down, grinning himself. He craned his neck, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead.

For a moment, their relationship seemed prefect.

* * *

"Lucy and Erik Heartfilia." They looked up meeting the gaze their doctor. He had black, greying hair, broad shoulders and chicken like legs. He lead them through a long, narrow corridor.

"Look up the definition of disproportion, give me five bucks when his face is there." Erik whispered.

"I think he looks rather attractive," she whispered back. "For a potato with legs."

The doctor stopped outside a door to his left. He opened it, looking at them expectantly as he held it open.

"Uh… Nice to meet y–"

"I am Doctor Jefferson," He cut her off.

"I'm Lucy, this is–" she was cut off once more.

"I will be taking care of your pregnancy; I will also be there to deliver the baby." He spoke calmly, seeming uninterested. "I will proscribe vitamins to help the baby with growth and I will also appoint monthly check-ups to see how the child is going." Lucy nodded along with him.

"With the vitamins," She started. Doctor Jefferson opened his mouth to speak.

"You see that stethoscope over there," Erik pointed. The man followed his finger, nodding apprehensively, "if you interrupt my wife again I will personally strangle you with it, got it?" Lucy looked at her husband with wide eyes. He looked at her smiling innocently, gesturing with his hand for her to continue. She turned her head away from him, meeting the cold eyes of the doctor.

"…Would there be any potential damage?" she spoke slowly, her eyes flicking back to Erik. The doctor released the breath he had held,

"Most of the risk is with vitamin A." he continued, "Babies still need vitamin A, but having too much can potentially cause problems. I would suggest not taking any in the first seven weeks of your pregnancy." Lucy nodded. "You're only at five weeks, so we'll wait three more to be safe." he gathered some tools, "Lay down please," Lucy looked at the bed to her left. It was the only bed in the room, covered by a thin piece of paper.

"Here?" She pointed to the bed.

"Yes, where else?"

"Well the floor looks nice and cool, and it is pretty hot outside."

"Mrs Heartfilia," he warned.

"Yes, Doctor Jefferson,"

"Please lay down." she moved to the bed, looking at it warily,

"Are you sure it's this bed?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"100%"

"I have one more question before I get on this especially favoured bed."

"And what might that be?"

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Mrs Heartfilia, I am sure you are aware that I am on a tight schedule."

"Doctor Jefferson, I am sure you are aware that I am pregnant."

"That's why you're here."

"So if you don't give me directions right now," she warned, "I will not hesitate to open the flood gates," he grimaced, "on your very pristine looking bed," she spoke slowly, "And I am 100% positive that you know how much that paper lacks in absorbency." she pointed to the bed. "So unless you want a tsunami of asparagus urine in your over priced office, I suggest you give me directions to your facilities."

"I will have you arrested,"

"I will sue you for not giving basic human rights to a woman whom is with child." he grit his teeth together,

"Turn right, second door to the left."

"Doctor Jefferson,"

"Yes,"

"I don't need to go to the bathroom anymore."

"Well," he clicked his fingers on the table. "Would you like to lay down, Mrs Heartfilia?"

"Yes, thank you." Lucy pulled up her shirt, exposing her stomach.

Jefferson squirted on some gel; taking the wand, he pressed it to the bottom of her stomach. The digital screen sparked to life, grey lines running across the screen. Erik refocused his attention on his wife, to see her biting her lip, and squeezing his hand. He squeezed her hand back, nodding slightly in reassurance when she looked at him.

"Oh, here we go." Jefferson spoke. They looked over to the screen, a battlefield of grey. Jefferson pointed to two tiny black dots. "And it looks like you're having twins." he moved the stick some more, inspecting the health of the babies.

Lucy took in a breath of air, smiling softly, "Twins," she breathed, "wow." She looked to Erik, a ghost of a smile on his face, the smile vanished as he looked over to the doctor,

"Could you give us a minute?" Jefferson quickly nodded, leaving the room. They sat in comprehending silence, both staring at Lucy's stomach. "Twins," Erik said finally, "that's a surprise." Lucy nodded.

"Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?" he bit his lip.

"Well you were already gonna be more bitchy than usual." Lucy glared at him, "And you're probably gonna get twice as fat." His smirk slowly turned into a smile, "But I think I can handle it." Lucy smiled.

"You're a dick." She shook her head laughing. "Just remember though, I'm going to be a cranky old cow and you won't be able to do anything." She huffed in victory. Erik only rolled his eyes.

"Erik," Lucy started, it was now or never. He hummed, "we can't raise kids like this." He looked at her, alarmed.

"Like what?"

"It's not that I don't want children. I do… it's just… we can barely have a conversation without insulting each other… I don't want our kids to think that's okay." Erik nodded, finding the floor very interesting.

"And I'm guessing you've already come up with a solution." She nodded, biting her lip.

"I want to go to marriage counselling."

* * *

Erik sat in a large, cosy room; Lucy sat on the chair to his right, reading a magazine. A – slightly familiar – woman with purple hair guarded the desk in front of them. She had spoken softly to Lucy while she typed on her computer. Erik only stared at her intrigued. When she had first lay eyes on him she had gulped before turning her attention to Lucy only. He continued staring at her. He gave her credit for not freaking out.

"Lucy and Erik Heartfilia." The duo looked up to meet sapphire blue eyes; warm and captivating. "Follow me please." She turned and walked down a hallway, going into a room to her right. "Please take a seat." They both sat down, staring at her dumbly.

This woman happened to be the epitome of beauty. Lucy honestly didn't want to comment she was 'pretty' because it wouldn't have done her justice. Her bangs had been tied back, leaving the rest of her flowing snow white hair to frame her face. She wore a red dress and red earrings, ocean blue eyes studying them.

"I'm Mirajane Strauss," she introduced, "I'm going to be your marriage counsellor." She grinned.

* * *

 **Day two is done! Yay! This one wasn't as funny as the first chapter, so I did add some stuff in, hopefully it was good-ish.**

 **Reviews are appreciated, until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**

 **Tomorrow is _Online_ so look forward to that.**


	3. Online

Thanks to **Alyss Hatter, Ashviqua Kadar, 31,** **archangel649, jzinnel, klr14.**

 **klr14** thanks for reviewing also, made my day :)

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Online**

Lucy sat comfortably on the lounge, laptop on her lap as she typed furiously. Erik sat next to her, watching Everybody Loves Raymond. His eyes kept flicking over to her. He clicked his tongue, hoping to subtly grab her attention. "Stop your clicking, Erik."

He craned his neck to look at the screen; paragraphs of solid black text adorning her page. "Whatcha readin'?" she finally looked up, staring at him indifferently,

"What to expect with twin pregnancy." She looked back down. He watched as she clicked and typed some more. "Erik."

"What?"

"Are you any good at giving massages?" he blinked at her.

"Why?" she smirked,

"Says here you'll be giving me quite a few foot rubs." Narrowing his eyes, he turned his body.

"What?"

" _Because of the additional weight, twin pregnancies tend to be more uncomfortable. Get plenty of rest and put your feet up frequently to reduce swelling and leg pain._ " She read. He rolled his eyes.

"You just need to keep your feet up."

"Yeah," she scoffed, "because you're gonna run all my errands." He sighed, looking at her quizzically,

"You did gymnastics when you were younger, right?" she nodded apprehensively. "How good's your handstand?" she glared at him,

"I'm not a circus act." She looked back at her computer, "Or a miracle," she said as an afterthought, "that shit's impossible." He stared at her for moment,

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." She smiled absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I guess," she tilted her head, "I mean I never knew ophidiophillia was a thing, but you blew that doubt out the window." She tapped her nail on the mouse pad, "Perhaps you should talk to Mirajane about it, might help you get through it."

"I don't know what that shit is, and I don't wanna know," he stood, walking to the kitchen, "so please keep it to yourself." She grinned.

After finishing an edible dinner – much to Erik's relief – they lay in bed, Lucy reading off her laptop while Erik scrolled through his phone. Lucy paused looking at the canvas on the wall, she turned to the male beside her, "Did you really take that quote from the one on the wall? You couldn't have been a little more creative?"

"Yes I did. And at the time I didn't care, which must be a shock considering I still don't."

Lucy only rolled her eyes.

* * *

"It's bad for the babies to have a laptop on your stomach!" Erik called. Lucy shook her head.

"Only if it starts raising your core body temperature." She grabbed the glass of water from his hands, taking a sip. "Mine isn't rising."

"You're still going to risk it?"

"Risk what?"

"Harming the kids!" She looked at him dumbly. "What are you even doing on this thing?"

"Number one, Erik, I'm a writer for the newspaper, it's my job to type. And two, unlike you, I'm actually researching childbirth, so I know roughly what to expect."

"So what?" he ground his teeth together, "You don't think I want to understand what's going on?"

"You don't exactly seem very enthusiastic." He ran his hand through his hair.

"It doesn't mean I'm not." She rolled her eyes,

"Maybe show it sometime then. Maybe for once come to me and say, _'Let's go to the library, find out how your body will change'_ or ' _let's go to a yoga session, work off that stress.'_ " She sighed in irritation, "Just show that you actually want this."

"Have you ever considered that I'm just as freaked out about this as you are?" he hummed, "That I'm scared shitless that everything and anything will go wrong! I haven't got this shit spelled out for me!" he ran a hand through his hair. "I have no idea what to fucking do!"

"Just Google it!"

"No!" he looked at her pointedly, his eye flashing in defiance. "The second rule is to work together! The fourth rule to talk shit out! We," he pointed a finger between them, "are not doing any of that."

"What about rule number one and three, Erik. You can't skip the rules, it's an order! Follow it for once in your goddamn life!" she closed her laptop standing at eye level with him. "You want to be a dad, _Cobra_?" he flinched away. Lucy looked at him harshly, not an ounce of sympathy in her fierce eyes. "Then start being a husband."

* * *

Mirajane looked between the married couple in wonder. They sat far apart, glaring at each other with scowls on their faces.

"It would be good if you helped me clean for once!" Lucy yelled.

"Well it would be nice if you got off your laptop for once in your damn life!"

"At least I have a best-friend who isn't fucking Google!"

"What do you mean? Your best-friend is the hand you have shoved up your ass!"

"Yeah, well that hands about to meet your other eye with a rusty screw-driver, you sack of shit!"

"Well if I'm the sack of shit I'll just make sure my odor wafts up your nostrils for eternity! Mmmm musty!" Mira cringed. Lucy quickly composed herself,

"No because I'll go and bury you in the garden so I can look at the flowers that grow and finally feel proud at something you made!"

"I hope you'll pick off the flower petals and get _'He loves me not'_ every fucking time so you know the truth."

"When you die I'm going to cremate you and sprinkle your ashes in a reptile park so you can finally be happy, you snake fucker!"

"Who the fuck says I'm going first? Hopefully Fate has the sympathy to take you out first so I can live in peace!"

"I know you're going first because I'm going to fucking murder you!"

Mira stared at them warmly, she giggled softly, "Erik," she started. "Lucy," they stopped their ramblings, instead looking at her expectantly. Lucy crossed her right leg over her left as Erik sat forward. "It appears there's some conflict," she said.

"No shit." Erik mumbled. Mira glared from her seat, a surprisingly terrifying sight to behold.

"Now," she said in a happier tone, "I would like to get to the founding problem." They sat silently.

"We're having twins," Lucy said. The white-haired beauty's eyes widened. She sucked her lips in as she thought of a reply.

"Ok," She looked at Lucy then at Erik and back to Lucy. "You've consulted with a doctor?" Lucy nodded.

"He was a dick." Lucy glared at her husband,

"You have a problem with everyone,"

"No, I don't trust him." He frowned,

"So that's why you threatened to strangle him with a stethoscope?" Mira looked between the two in bewilderment, her shoulders shaking with supressed humour. Erik remained silent.

"Well the industry runs many more facilities, including a doctor's surgery, I can refer you there if you would like." Mira said hopefully.

"Is this a promoting scheme?" Mira laughed,

"No, nothing like that, I just know from… personal experience that the doctor can be trusted." They nodded collectively.

"Maybe."

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, "I'm assuming you have concerns with the pregnancy." Erik sighed tiredly.

"Not so much concerns at the idea of having kids, just the fact that we're going to their parents." Lucy nodded in agreement. Mira frowned before laughing.

"No one's going to the perfect parents, trust me. Your kids will adore you when they're young, then around eleven or twelve they're going want independence and stop relying on you as much.

"After they get pass that stage they're going to think the world is out to get them. That their parents hate them and that they're experts in relationships, it's inevitable.

"But after that stage, they're really going to appreciate you, so much so that they'll change your diapers when you're both old and wrinkly and riddled with arthritis, so much so that you can't bend your elbow to wipe your ass." Erik blinked,

"Graphic."

"And then they'll put you in the old people home." She smiled sweetly.

Lucy spoke slowly, "We're more worried that if we don't get our relationship sorted out, they're going to grow up thinking its OK to yell and insult the person they're with." Mira sighed.

"It's normal to communicate and have disagreements, I just think that you're both going about the wrong way of talking things out." She frowned, looking to the floor. "You're an editor right, Lucy?" the blonde nodded cautiously, wondering what the woman had up her sleeves. "And you're a body guard." Erik confirmed her thoughts with a nod.

"What are you getting out?" He asked finally.

"I'm just thinking, you're occupations make you both very different people." Lucy sat forward in interest, her legs unfolding as she rested her elbows on them,

"How so?" Mira looked between them.

"Well, Lucy, for a start, you're a writer. You seek information and have had to learn to engage people in the things you tell them. You are able to use facts to back up your ideas.

"Erik on the other hand, is used to using strength to get his point across. He is better at using actions to do the talking, hence making him seem like a dick, when in reality he is just unsure of what to say, and therefor comes off as grouchy.

"You though, Lucy. You're job and upbringing shaped you into someone who is articulate and proper. This makes you a convincing person and very good at talking to people.

"When you think about, you are both essentially completely different people, which makes you compatible with each other." The pair sat in stunned silence. "But also means that you clash." They nodded, "So I have an idea." She raised one finger before shaking her head and raising another digit. "Two ideas."

"Here we go."

"Well one's a test really."

"Would you hurry up?"

"OK, OK." She cleared her throat. "The first idea is that you both keep a diary."

"Not happening." Erik said.

"A journal?"

"Better, but doubtful." Mira ignored his comment

"You both will keep a journal and instead of arguing about something, you will write down whatever the issue is in your journal, OK?" they nodded, "Then when you come in next we will discuss those things, work out easier ways to solve them without my help." she watched Lucy contemplate the idea before she nodded,

"That's not a bad idea actually." Mira nodded, satisfied. "That way, we won't get angry over petty things."

"Exactly."

Erik narrowed his eyes, "What was your test then?" Mira grinned deviously, a sight both entrancing and terrifying. Erik gulped.

"I'm going to begin a search to find your ideal partner, whilst this happens, you will be going on a date." They looked taken back for a moment before shrugging,

"Ok. Had plenty of dates before, what's the problem now?" she smiled sweetly,

"You will be going on a blind date." They both paled.

"…What?" Mirajane giggled. Lucy looked as pale as a ghost, Erik looked as though he was going to be sick.

"Using an online server, I'm going to sign you up for online dating and a true love website of sorts. You will both meet up with your dates and have to spend dinner with them."

"…oh dear god no."

"The catch is I'll be picking your dates."

"You're a demon." Erik shook his head, his mouth agape.

"So I have been told." Lucy shifted uncomfortably,

"What's the point of this exactly? What does it accomplish?"

"Hopefully it will allow you to appreciate what you already have."

Erik raised an eyebrow, "And what if we start appreciating what we meet rather than what we already have." Mira looked at them pointedly,

"That's why I will be picking your dates."

* * *

Lucy finished putting her earing in, she had already curled her hair and picked out her outfit. She wore a tight fitting black dress, red heels and was holding a red clutch. She looked at herself in the mirror side on, smiling at the tiny baby bump.

She walked into the living room; Erik sat on the couch, swiping through his facebook feed. He was wearing black jeans and a blue dress shirt, Lucy personally thought he looked pretty good. He turned to look at her, his jaw dropping.

He had organised to go to a small diner on a corner street while Lucy's date had organised them a reservation at a high class restaurant. Honestly, Lucy hoped that her date would pay for the majority of the meal considering they didn't particularly have the money for such a place. She had dressed especially nice for the occasion.

"Wow," said Erik, "you don't look like a decomposing rat." Despite the insult, Lucy managed to smile.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He contained his grin,

"Lucy,"

"Yes,"

"You picked the outfit."

"That's correct."

"After telling me exactly, _'If you pick it, you'll look like you bought it from a homeless man who's been sleeping in the sewer'._ "

"That's also correct."

"Are you subtly complementing your own ability to dress others?"

"Perhaps."

"So you're saying that you're praising yourself for making me look good?" Lucy sighed,

"Yes, Erik."

"Just thought I'd check."

They both walked to the door. Awkwardly saying goodbye to each other. Lucy had gotten a taxi while Erik decided to walk. His trip was uneventful excluding the cat that jumped in front of him as he walked by a bin. The event had scared him enough to make him fall into a hedge. A hedge that now had a brief outline of him through its centre. He had agreed to wait on the corner outside, making it easier for his date to find him.

He leaned against the brick wall, the rain drenching the ground in front of him as he stood under the shelter. He waited around five minutes before he heard someone calling his name. He opened his eye to meet blue ones. White hair framed the female face, in which he recognised immediately,

"Angel," he greeted, "what're you doing here." Erik grinned, poking her side. He and Angel – as well as the rest of his chosen family – had known each other since childhood, meeting in a mansion owned by one of the wealthiest men on the continent. This particular man had realised hiring house cleaners and butlers was too expensive and instead invested his money into a child slavery ring, one of which had been shut down only six years later.

In that time, he and five other children had grown close, impenetrable bonds.

Angel happened to be the only female and was considered the sister to everyone. She looked sweet and adorable and lively, yet was a ruthless, possessive business woman.

She smiled at him nervously, "I'm actually here on a blind date." His grin froze in place as he paled. She raised an eyebrow, "Everything ok?" he looked at her hopefully,

"Little Red Riding Hood's basket of goods." That particular phrase had been his and his dates 'code phrase.' Angel's smile vanished as she stared at him in disgust, "Before you–" he was cut off as a pain shot through his cheek. He hissed clutching his face. He looked at Angel in fear as she came at him with her umbrella, delivering hits to his shoulder and head. He grabbed her wrists, stopping her administrations. "Let's go inside and I'll explain exactly what's happening." She only glared at him.

* * *

Lucy stared wide eyed at her date. He was relatively attractive, his brown hair was styled uniquely, and his eyes were a piercing red. He wore an expensive looking suit and had a large grin on his face. He had introduced himself as Dan Straight. They sat across from each other. She tried to keep her eyes on the menu as he gushed and gushed about her.

"I'm positive this is what they mean by love at first sight! Oh, you're absolutely beautiful! Can I call you Lu? Oh, well, Lu I do believe that I have fallen in love!~" a waiter approached the table. He had dark raven hair and dark blue eyes. She looked up as he approached. He looked at Dan at her and his eyes widened marginally.

"G–Gray," she stuttered. He ignored her, subtly glaring at her and Dan.

"Can I get you any wine tonight _Mrs_?" Dan hadn't appeared to be listening to their waiter, too caught up in his fantasy of children with Lucy.

"I'm fine, thanks." She said stiffly. They quickly ordered, Dan ordering her a salad as he subtly hinted that she was a little rounder than his usual date.

"Do you have any interests, Dan?" she asked.

"Well I think you're number one." He said smoothly. Lucy fought the urge to roll her eyes,

"Is that so?"

"Well with a girl as pretty as you, Lulu, it would be especially hard to deny~!" she felt her eyes twitch as she planted a smile on her face. She coughed.

"You're much too kind."

* * *

"How did you fuck up your marriage so much you need therapy?" Angel had long since calmed down. She sat with her head rested on her hands as she raised to eyebrows.

Erik sneered,"You could say it was a gradual process." She nodded.

After Erik had thoroughly explained what was happening, Angel had seemed somewhat accepting of his excuse, although she was still wary. He had found it particularly funny how protective the girl had been over Lucy considering they didn't exactly have the ideal meeting.

That had been a situation that he had no idea how to handle.

It had started when he had introduced Lucy to his group of friends, Angel hadn't liked the Damsel In Distress attitude Lucy had been wearing and had insisted that if Lucy could beat her in a fight she were worthy of him. Not only was it awkward, but the rest of the group hadn't a clue on what to do.

Lucy had honestly thought Angel was messing around, but had soon realised she was wrong when Angel struck her in the jaw. The group expected Lucy to run to Erik, and so had he. So, when she instead pounced on Angel and delivered painful blows to the girl, she had shocked them quite a lot.

The tables did end up turning and Angel began her onslaught of attacks. The boys had been rooted to their seats. Lucy had ended up groaning on the ground as Angel claimed victory. However, as the blue-eyed girl went to sit down, her chair got pulled away and smashed into the side of her head. As Angel laid on the ground, Lucy planted the chair down, sat on it, drunk all of Erik's bourbon in quick succession, muttering 'Damn Bitch,'

"So you're gonna be a dad." She stated,

"Yep." He popped the 'p'.

"And are you ready for that."

"No."

"Well you have what thirty-ish weeks? That's plenty of time to get your shit together."

"I have almost seven months, why make it sound so long?" She looked at him smartly,

"Because if I were to say seven months, you would think, 'shit that's not that long'," she had made her voice deeper. "But if I told you thirty-ish weeks you would think you'd have longer, and more time to get organised."

"Or I would think 'oh I have thirty-ish weeks, that's plenty of time, lets sit on my ass and do jack-shit'."

"Or that."

They sat in silence a little longer. Angel checked the time on her phone, "Well I'm going, don't drown your sorrows too long." He scoffed, getting up,

"I'll walk you out." She nodded.

* * *

Lucy opened her front door to see Erik sprawled on the sofa, his arms folded under his head. He looked over to her. "How was your date?" She slipped off her shoes, making her way to the couch. Erik moved his feet, allowing her to sit.

"I walked there, got scared by a cat, fell into a hedge, stood outside for five minutes as it started to rain. Got assaulted by my date, which, if you must know was Angel. Then had a very civilised conversation with her explaining that I wasn't in fact cheating on you. I still don't think she believes me." Lucy laughed, "How was yours?"

Lucy looked to the floor, frowning, finding the correct words to describe the night. "If I ever get kidnapped, tell the police: Dan Straight." Erik barked with laughter.

"That bad, huh?"

"He ordered me a salad after telling me I was a little too fat for his liking, then proceeded to tell me how beautiful I was, stating exactly: ' _the thing I love most about you, are your toenails.'_ " Lucy cringed; Erik fell off the lounge, clutching his stomach. She too burst into sad laughter. "He couldn't even see my toenails!"

Erik lifted her leg from her position from the floor, inspecting the blue coloured toes. "I agree, your toenails are quite beautiful." He snickered. Lucy shot her foot out, kicking him in the centre of his face. He dropped the appendage, clutching his aching nose instead.

"Gray also thinks I'm having an affair, so that'll be fun." Erik only snorted.

"What colour was it?" Lucy asked.

"What colour was what?"

"The cat,"

"Oh, umm," he frowned, "black I think, why?" She clicked her tongue in disapproval,

"Bad luck, Erik."

* * *

 **For those who don't know, ophidiophillia is an extreme love for snakes that can sometimes cross over to an entirely different realm.**

 **I was inspried by an episode of _How I Met Your Mother_ for this chapter. ****Just in case anyone wanted to know.** **You didn't... Oh, well... OK.**

 **Reviews are appreciated.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**

 **Tomorrow will be _Colour_.**


	4. Colour

**Thanks to papalogia and Saph for reviewing. Glad you guys liked the last chapter.**

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Colour**

"Erik," Lucy's face was pale. "Erik," she sat on the lounge, a look of dread sinking in, "Erik," she stared at the wall in deep pity, "Erik," pity for herself, but still pity. "Erik,"

Erik looked up from his book, "What?"

"We have a serious problem." He closed the book,

"What's happened?" he said somewhat urgently,

"My foot is dead." He rolled his eyes, opening his book once more.

"Not my problem, Lucy."

"I can't feel my hand."

"I thought it was your foot." He didn't look up, flipping a page.

"It's double trouble."

"And yet I still don't care."

"Erik, please, _help me_." he chuckled.

"Nope."

"Please!" he shook his head, grinning.

"No."

"But I love you so, so much." He shook his head.

"You're an idiot."

"You need to help me."

"I don't think I do."

"As the queen of this house!" he raised an eyebrow, looking up from the pages of text. "I order you to carry me to the bathroom." He scoffed.

"As the king of this house I order you to get up and walk." She shook her head.

"No, you're the strong one."

"In chess the queen does the moving, Lucy, so," he pointed his finger to the bathroom, "Why don't you take the diagonal route straight over there." She sighed in exasperation.

"Fine, but just remember," she got to her feet, stumbling slightly. Lucy stopped outside the bathroom door, "You might be the head of the house, but I'm the neck,"

"And the neck can turn the head anyway it wants." He rolled his eyes, "I got it, I got it, but Lucy,"

"Yes, Erik,"

"You need to stop quoting movies I've watched a thousand times." She frowned.

"When have you ever watched _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_?"

"Angel," she 'aah'ed and vanished into the bathroom.

Erik remained sitting on the lounge, quite proud of himself. He readjusted the two books he was holding. While he was not a fan of Pride and Prejudice, Lucy didn't seem to question it. If she knew he was holding a book on pregnancy in front of the classic, she would have a field day.

Lucy walked out of the bathroom only moments later.

"Erik," he kept his eyes focused on his book.

"Yes,"

"We have a real problem."

"And what might that be?"

"Well whilst relieving my bladder I had a thought," he looked up, sighing,

"And what might that be?"

"We don't have a spare room." He shook his head,

"And why would we need a spare room?"

"Erik," she warned. He looked up in confusion,

"Lucy, I'm honestly not seeing the problem here."

"Let me ask you a question, Erik," he looked at her expectantly, "Do you want to share a room with our children?" It took Erik a while to realise the point his wife was making.

"Are we going to have to buy a new place?" she nodded grimly. He sighed once more, putting the book on the side table, "I'll call Richard."

* * *

Richard was another one of Erik's friends. He was a tall, bigger man with orange hair and sharp features. He had a talent for sales and was a skilled real estate agent. "So there's going to be a mini Cobra and a mini Lucy, right?"

"Yeah, so we need to buy a house before I get to big to move," Lucy explained, chuckling as she pat her little tummy.

Richard pondered a moment, "Let me guess, hmm," he looked between the duo, looking at Lucy's bump intently, "One story, three bedroom, one as a study, two bathrooms, one ensuite – coming off the Master. A spacious kitchen, backyard and front yard, one car garage." Lucy raised her eyebrow,

"I'm impress–"

"And a walk in laundry." He added quickly, "Right?" Lucy beamed,

"Exactly,"

"Exactly?" he questioned.

"Exactly."

"Both wrong," Erik called. Richard frowned, "Twins, remember? Four bedrooms," The orange-haired man shook his head,

"No three,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Richard I'm telling you, four."

"Erik, trust me, you will need _three_ bedrooms." The two males had a staring match. They looked at each other intensely, an unspoken conversation occurring as they glared. Erik snapped out of his state first, sighing.

"OK, fine. Three bedrooms," Richard looked satisfied, he nodded with appreciation.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Lucy asked. Richard shook his head, smiling,

"While your cooking is always lovely, Lucy, I'm afraid I can't. I have date," lucy raised her eyebrows,

"Nice going," The male blushed cutely.

"I should be off, don't want to keep them waiting,"

"Richard," said man turned around. "Can we keep this as a secret for a little longer? It's just a little early to be telling everyone."

"I figured as much," Richard walked to the door with Lucy and Cobra, they exchanged short goodbyes. Richard walked down the hallway, only just hear Lucy call out to him,

"Knock 'em dead, Big Guy!"

* * *

Lucy hung up the phone, sighing in relief. "Well," she coughed, "That's everyone."

"I don't understand your logic," Erik muttered from his place on the lounge,

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you inviting _everyone_?" Lucy scoffed as if the answer were simple,

"Because then I won't lose track of who I've told, plus I can disguise it as my birthday, no one will know, not even my dad."

"Why does he have to come?"

"Because, as much as you don't like him, he did create me, and you love me, so you will love him." Lucy smiled, satisfied.

"Your dad hates me." Lucy shook her head,

"He doesn't hate you,"

"You wanna bet?"

"He just dislikes you enough to want to put you in an early grave."

"Thanks, _Sweetie_ ," she smiled cheerfully, internally cringing.

"You're welcome, _Pumpkin_ ," he shook his head quickly, shaking her sickly sweet voice from his head.

"What about the kids room? I've always been particularily fond of yellow-green."

"Erik…" Lucy recoiled in disgust, "We are not painting their room–"

" _Why not?_ " he whined

"–baby shit green,"

"Why?"

"Because it is one of the most repulsing colours in the history of colours."

"I think you're exaggerating, I mean after all my room when I was younger was baby shit green, I'm perfectly fine." Lucy paused, the tape pausing in its quest around the cardboard box.

"Erik, you murdered your neighbour's cat in your baby shit coloured room, that's not the right foundation for a child."

"Lucy, dear, I don't think you can play the blame game when you carved out my eye with a butter knife, you grew up in a pink room. Colour means nothing."

"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it."

"Then proceeded to hang said butterknife in our living room, above my seat."

"That was a promise we made, you broke the promise after specifically saying, 'cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye,' I didn't have a needle on hand," she sighed, pulling the butter knife from its place on the wall, holding it respectfully, admiring it's every curve, "A butter knife was the best I could do." She turned it over, "Erik, it has some blood on it!"

"Nope, not fucking looking at that shit." she narrowed her eyes playfully,

"Well let's not break that promise again, otherwise you really won't see it." She grinned, batting her eyelashes sweetly at him. Erik blinked, his face unusually stoic,

"Lucy, I can assure you, I won't be buying low fat yoghurt anytime soon." She cringed spectacularly,

"Don't say it," he smirked, playing innocent,

"What can't I say, Lucy? Low. Fat. Yogurt." She grimaced, curling herself tighter together. She clung onto her ears,

"Don't fucking do it, Erik, I will cut you!"

"Low!" he yelled, "Fat!" Lucy squealed, trying to block out his voice, "Yoghurt!"

"Stop!" he paused, laughing. Lucy cautiously unhooked her fingers from her hair. she glared at him until his voice died out. As he remained silent she pressed the butterknife to his cheek,

"No."

"Well, I think pink and baby shit green are out of the question," he laughed, Lucy smiled.

"I think it's for the best, we wouldn't want our daughters–"

"Sons." She glared,

"–to be a complete lunatics." Eric snorted,

"With parents like us, it's inevitable."

"That's OK, you can be the crazy father and I'll be the insane mother that looks normal." She nodded, "My parents played the same charade for most of my childhood." She frowned, nodding her head in appreciation, "Honestly they were pretty good at it too."

They sat silently, basking in the warmth of the heater in front of them. "We need to make another appointment." Lucy whimpered. "Can you do it?"

"Why the fuck would I do it?" Lucy glared,

"Erik, I have been talking to my relatives," she cringed at the word, "For forty minutes." He grimaced, "You can make five minute phone call," Erik breathed through his nose, running his tongue along his teeth.

"Fine."

"I'm gonna go pee again."

"Jesus Christ, Lucy, can't you put a plug in or something?"

"It doesn't work that way." Erik rolled his eyes. Lucy stood going to the bathroom.

Erik decided in that short moment the phone call could wait, it would be much to late now. Picking up the remote, Erik flicked through the channels. He stopped as he got to _Everybody Love Raymond_. He sat back sighing, closing his eyes momentarily.

"ERIK!" he sat up, looking at the bathroom door in worry. Lucy's voice was hoarse and scared, "Erik!" he got to his feet, racing to the wood separating them.

"Lucy!" he turned the handle, the door not budging, "Lucy! You need to open the door!" he barged his shoulder into it, the frame rocking. "Lucy, come on! You need to open up!" the door clicked unlock and opened. Lucy's panicked face came into view, she stared at him, panting, her eyes red and jumpy.

"I'm bleeding." Lead dropped in Erik's stomach.

* * *

"Lucy, Erik." The pair looked to the door as a woman approached. She had fading pink hair, wrinkles on her forehead and fierce red eyes. "I'm Porlyusica, it appears Dr. Jefferson is more incompetent than I had imagined, so here I am." Had Lucy not been worrying she may have laughed. Maybe Erik would have too.

"Dr. Jefferson filed in his report that you teo were having twins correct?" they nodded hesitantly, "We looked up family histories here in the hospital, your mother, Layla had several miscarriages, correct, Mrs Heartfilia?"

"Y-Yes" she croaked, her voice raw with emotion. Porlyusica nodded, flipping through pages.

"I'm going to perform an ultrasound, make sure everything is alright, is that OK with you?" Lucy nodded. Like Jefferson, Porlyusica applied the gel to her stomach; she picked up the wand, putting it to Lucy's bump. She moved it around. Lucy started silently crying, Erik gripped her hand. "If you look here," she pointed to the right of two black holes. "This is an empty sac, which indicates - I am sorry to inform - that you've had a miscarriage."

Erik inhaled sharply as he squeezed Lucy's hand, the blondes chest rose and fell quickly as she forced her tears to stop. Porlyusica pointed to the other black hole, a thin white oval like circle in the centre, "That's your other baby, it seems perfectly healthy to me, but I suggest taking it easy for some time. Stress could effect it, and we don't need that right now."

Lucy nodded numbly, her senses were a blur, her heart thumped loudly in her ears, she vaguely realised she was looking at Erik. His hair dishevelled from him running his hands through it countless times that night. His eyes were red from fatigue. He looked at her and just stared.

No words were spoken, just a silent exchange between them. He squeezed her hand, looking away and back to Porlyusica as one lonesome tear leaked out of his eye. "I want you to come back next week, and every two weeks after that to keep an eye on this child." She stood up, walking away from the pair. Lucy was glad she hadn't said 'I'm sorry for your loss,' she figured that would be her breaking point, accepting that it really was gone.

"At least you only have to give me half as many foot rubs now," she chuckled dryly, staring at her folded hands. Erik shook his head, he stood from the green hospital chair, Lucy slid over as he sat on the bed. He pulled her onto him, resting his chin on her shoulder. He grabbed her hands with his, squeezing them in reassurance,

"I'll give you as many foot rubs as you need."

* * *

Erik stood stiffly while Lucy greeted guests, he had a tight, practised smile on his face, Lucy had opted to wear a loose fitting dress to make their surprise more of a surprise. Erik wasn't an idiot though, he knew Lucy was hurting, they both were. He knew she wasn't nearly as excited for this party had she been two weeks prior, but she sure as hell put on a good show.

He was under the impression that they would ignore what had happened until they really had to talk about it. They both seemed to be content with the idea.

He knew just as well as she did that the other was hurting. It wasn't a shock really, just like a stab through the gut. Just one quick jab that they had pretended didn't exist, even though they were bleeding out.

"Dad!" he looked at Lucy as she hugged the older blonde, the old man's grey eyes widening slightly. "It's good to see you," she pulled away.

"The feeling is mutual," she laughed, a bubbly, fake laugh. As much as he didn't want to admit, he was positive Cana picked up on it.

"How have you been?" Erik tuned out the conversation as his group of friends entered. He walked over smoothly,

"Hello, Erik, this is a lovely place, right?" Richard asked.

"Right," Angel repeated.

"Thanks for coming," they all smirked, relaying greetings and snide comments.

Eventually everyone arrived, minus an aunt who had gotten caught in traffic, they sat at a long table. Lucy and Erik sat at one end, Racer and Meredy at the other. Small talk was passed around as everyone ordered, Lucy looked at Erik and raised an eyebrow, he nodded. Lucy stood, gaining most of the guests attention.

"Hello everyone," she started awkwardly. The kind of awkward where one wrong move could be you downfall. "Whilst I had invited you to celebrate my birthday, that is in fact a lie." A few gasps were heard around the table and Lucy fought the urge to slap each sharp intaker of breath in the back of the head. "The real reason I invited you all here was because I wanted everyone to be together," _and because I would have forgotten to tell most of you if you weren't here._ "When I told you all our special news." She saw Cana smirk. Her father raised a bushy eyebrow as he took a long sip of his drink, "And that is that me and Erik are having a baby!" she laughed as everyone went eerily silent. A spluttering choking noise caught their attention as everyone looked to see Jude coughing. An uncle sitting next to him pat him harshly on the back. He choked some more before he gained his breath.

"Congratulations," his voice cracked from strain. His eyes moved to Erik, glaring, "You got my daughter pregnant?" he screeched. Erik suddnely felt nervous under his gaze, "First you marry her, now she's having a child?" Erik muttered something under his breath. Lucy went rigid as she glared at her husband. "What was that?" Lucy started panicking, "If you have something to say, make sure we can all hear it," his voice was much more harsh.

Lucy looked to Erik, pleading, he didn't acknowledge her, "I said, 'You were gonna pay someone to do that anyway,' when you think about it I'm actually saving you money." If the silence had been quiet before, it was now deafening. Lucy slumped her head onto her hands.

As if Jude had ignored the entire comment he looked away from Erik after one last glare, changing his vision to see his daughter. "While I am not exactly happy with your husband, Lucy, I'm very proud of you for finding someone who makes you happy. Even if it is some uneducated, egotistical, preposterous, mentally ill, asinine man that you are hell bent on calling a husband." He smiled, releasing his anger in one short breath.

"Would you look at that, Lucy," Erik whispered. "I got his stamp of approval." Lucy groaned.

* * *

Lucy and Erik walked through the wooden door of the small office, instantly sighing as the warmth in the room covered them. While the beginning of their make-shift reunion was a total shit-storm, the rest of the evening had been bearable, still awkward, but bearable. They walked to the desk at the end of the room.

"Hello, we have an appointment at two-thirty," Lucy spoke kindly,

"Please take a seat," she smiled. "Mira will be with you in a moment," Lucy took her cue and sat down, picking up a magazine from the table.

Erik stayed at the counter, staring at her intently, "Do you work at the diner on the corner street?" Erik asked. The woman looked at him quickly, before re-focusing her eyes on the computer screen.

"Yes, I work Saturday's there normally, but a lot of the time another employee has me covering their shift," she explained. Erik narrowed his eyes.

"What's your name?" she raised her eyebrows,

"That shouldn't be any concern to you, Mr Heartfilia."

"But it is. What's your name?" she sighed,

"Kinana, my name is Kinana." He nodded, looking at the floor, searching his memory,

"How do I know you?" Kinana looked alarmed for a moment before masking it away, a brilliant show of skill.

"I haven't a clue what you mean, Mr Heartfilia." He narrowed his eyes at her innocent features.

"Oh~! It's my favourite power couple!" Mira said giddily, catching everyone's attention, "Come on, come on, we don't have all day!" they made their way into the office, both taking their respective places on the lounge.

"You seem to be in a happy mood today, Mira," Lucy smiled,

"Well, yes, I am. But enough about me, this is all about you." She cleared her throat, "How have things been?" as Mira soon discovered, this was not the best answer to give. Lucy had immediately shut down and Erik looked on the verge of tears. Had she been standing, she would have taken a step back from the sudden change. "What happened?" they all sat in silence. Mira just stared at the pair while they looked dejectedly at the ground.

"We miscarried one of the twins," he said eventually. There was no point in hiding it, pretending it never happened. In the room he sat in it seemed that everything they hid finally escaped their clutches. "Lost one of our babies," he sighed, "Gone before it even came."

Lucy looked up, her eyes watered,"Why couldn't I do it,Mira?" she closed her eyes, "I couldn't even keep my baby safe," she shook her head, "Why am I unable to do the one thing a woman should be able to do?" Mira shook her head, she leant forward,

"Lucy, you need to realise that these things happen naturally. Yes they can happen by other means, but everyone in this room knows you would never harm those kids." She shook her head,

"It shouldn't matter, Mira, that was my duty, to protect those kids,"

"Sometimes things happen, things that we can't escape, we all just have to learn to adjust." a pained glimmer shimmered in her eye, it was gone as quick as it came, "That pain is unlikely to ever go away, but now, that kid growing in your tummy," she smiled, looking at Lucy' Swollen stomach, "that kid needs it's parents."

"You have to both stop ignoring each other." she said sternly, "Maybe a month ago it was working well and everything was good, but now, now you will both need each other more than ever." she sighed in sadness, "That baby will need you."

"Whatever differences you have, put them aside so you can both grieve, putting on brave faces isn't going to do any good, masks eventually crack, trust me." Mira stood handing the pair a tissue box before leaving the room.

Erik lifted his arms, jerking his head to the left. Getting the message, Lucy climbed into his comforting embrace.

They sat silently, Lucy crying quietly as Erik rubbed circles on her back, whispering sweet nothings into her ear as they both finally unleashed their torrents of pain.

The pair walked out of the building solemnly, hand in hand. Mira looked through the window, smiling at the pair. She looked behind her, the purple-haired, green-eyed assistant looked at Mira questioningly, "When are you going to tell him?" the therapist asked, Kinana flinched, looking down, her eyes mysterious.

"When the time is right."

* * *

Erik reached inside his pocket, pulling out the vibrating device, he pressed answer, listening to the voice on the other end, "You found a house?" he asked, "Yeah… yeah, I agree," he watched as Lucy slept soundly on the mattress, a ghost of a smile on his face, "Time for a new beginning."

* * *

 **I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Feels like I rushed it a lot, which I did.**

 **Reviews are appreciated.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFacntasy**

 **Tomorrow is _Answers,_ look forward to it.**


	5. Answers

Thanks to **iheartpickles** for following, favouriting and reviewing,

Thanks to **Princesslostsoul** for following and favouriting.

Thanks to **Klr14** for also reviewing

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Answers**

"What do you think, it's perfect, right?" Lucy nodded, looking around the empty home in interest.

"So far," Richard smiled. Lucy and Erik currently stood in the living room, whilst Richard leant against the off-white kitchen counter. The house was spacious and open. Sunlight filtered through the windows, making the coffee coloured curtains shine orange.

They walked further into the house, their shoes clicking in the silence. Opening one of the bedroom doors, Richard ushered them inside. Cream carpet was laid on the floor, beige walls, a white ceiling. Lucy looked at the connecting wooden door in contemplation, she nibbled her lip.

"Just have a look already," she glared at Erik, but none the less, did as he suggested. She opened the door, a smile creeping on to her face.

"Erik!" he sighed, "Erik, it's an ensuite! Oh god, and there's a bath too," I simile tugged at his lips, he forced it back down,

"Yeah, OK," Lucy looked at him outraged,

"OK? OK! Erik this is excellent, this is wonderful, a dream come true even, not OK!" he smirked at her outburst,

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," she bit her lip, angry she didn't have a retort.

"Next room, Richard?" Richard nodded.

* * *

The two returned home after the house inspection. They began packing their belongings before Lucy wasn't able too.

Erik wrapped tape around the box he had packaged. He took the sharpie form his mouth, writing ' _Shit we decided to keep, reason unknown_ '.

Lucy stood from her desk behind the lounge, holding a lace covered book, a soft smile on her face. "Erik," he grunted in response. Lucy took a seat on the lounge, her right leg folded under her. "Come here,"

Erik sighed, wiping his hands on the back of his pants before making his way over to the buxom blonde, "Is that?–" she smiled softly, nodding,

"The wedding album," he sighed heavily,

"Been a while since we looked through that one,"

"Yeah, it has hasn't it?" he nodded. Lucy kept her eyes on the book, "We should be packing," she noted dully. Erik nodded,

"Yeah, we probably should,"

Neither took a step away.

Lucy looked at Erik, before returning her gaze to the book. She flipped the first page. A black and white photo of Erik and Lucy holding hands, staring deeply into each other's eyes, soft smiles on their faces.

"Do you remember taking this?" Erik asked, Lucy shook her head

"No, I was too pissed," he coughed,

"Well alright," he blew breath out of his mouth, making a horse noise. "I was going to tell you a touching story about how the photographer was trying to get us into weird poses, but you just yelled at her saying that she should take natural photos that held actual meaning," he sighed, "Guess that can't happen though," Lucy pulled her eyebrows together,

"The only thing I remember from this photo is smiling like an idiot because I thought there was two of you," she laughed. "Now that's what happens in my nightmares."

"Touching, _Darling_ , absolutely touching." She scrunched her eyebrows again, scoffing.

"You look like a little kid," she laughed, "Did I really look that old?" Erik smirked,

"If you did, I certainly didn't mind," blushing spectacularly, Lucy looked away. Hastily, she turned the page. Erik scowled, "I wasn't finished, Woman," he turned it back. Lucy progressed, turning it. Erik raised his eyebrow, silently challenging his wife, whom smirked. He turned the page.

 _Forward. Back. Forward. Back. Forward. Back, Shiiiitch._

Erik froze, clutching the first page tightly. Slowly he raised his head from the torn page to Lucy. Shock and fury, her stare a splendid mix. She met his gaze head on, his entire body shuddering with the unspoken threat. Her breathing turned harsh. Her bitten lip was released as she smiled at him sweetly. "Erik," she breathed. "I'm going to fucking _murder_ you."

Erik sprang from the lounge, Lucy not far behind him. He bolted past the packed boxes, jumping over one as he landed harshly on the bathroom floor. He got to his feet as quickly as his sliding socks would allow him, slamming the door and locking it. He panted, turning around and sliding down the wood. "Oh, fuck," he whispered, staring at the shower curtain; small yellow rubber ducks not helping him in the slightest. "This is not good,"

He heard shuffling from outside the door, he heard something unknown smacking against Lucy's hand; footsteps indicating she was pacing outside. "Erik~!" she called, "Erik, come on out~!" he shook his head,

"Not a fucking chance in hell!"

"Don't be like that, Erik~!" he grimaced, "I just want to play a game~!"

"This is not _Saw_ ,"

"No," she sang, giggling, "This is Lucy~!" he whimpered.

"That's not as comforting as you might think it is!"

"Erik," she spoke against the door, "How much do you love the TV?"

"Why?"

"I'm asking questions, you're answering." She said angrily. She coughed, "So, I'll ask you again, how much do you love the TV?" Erik gulped. He heard Lucy move away from the door.

"A lot."

"OK," he heard the sinister smile through her voice.

"Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

Erik stayed in the bathroom longer, he heard rustling of boxes being packed, but didn't dare step outside the safe confines of the shitter. He heard a drill turn on, for a short time. He still didn't step outside.

A short time later he heard a soft thumping along with an electrical buzz. He glued himself to the floor.

He had heard mad giggling and several voices, which, luckily enough, left.

He sat on the floor and watched in fear as a pale hand opened the window in the bathroom, he stood quickly, making his way over. The hand disappeared momentarily, before returning, a long and thin, blue scaled snake dropping to the ground. Erik gasped audibly, backing away to the sink. He pushed himself onto the countertop, bringing his legs up as he sat as still as he possibly could.

The window shut, he only just heard the front door opening and closing. "Do you like your present, Erik?" he stared at the snake as it slithered on the ground. He hummed nervously,

"I-I love it, couldn't've asked for anything better."

"Not even a TV?" he side-glanced at the door, frowning.

"Not even a TV."

"Well that's good," she sighed in mock relief, "Because I packed it in a box." His face blanked.

"You what?"

"Well," she sighed once more, "We were already packing, so I decided to get it over with." Erik looked over to the snake, it slithered around the toilet.

Fighting his better instincts, he reached over, unlocking the door. The snake, turned his way, but he simply paused his movements. When the snake turned away, disinterested with Erik, he stood quickly, violently ripping the door open and slamming it behind him as he exited. His head rested against the panel of wood. "You're insane," he turned, expecting Lucy to be behind him. He frowned when she sat on the lounge, the knife she had taken his eye out in, in her right hand, a knife sharpener in her left. She looked at him, running the butter knife up and down,

"What was that, Erik?"

"I said: I loved the present." She beamed,

"I'm glad," she paused, "although I'm a little worried considering the last time you encountered a snake." She shook her head. Lucy stood, placing the tools on the coffee table. She moved around the lounge, towards her desk, "I want to show you something," he moved cautiously from the door, looking around the apartment for any flaws. His eyes glued to the spot where the TV was before, the absence of the screen saddening.

"And what might that be?" he looked outside, frowning at the lack of sun in the sky.

"Oh just something I made."

"How long was I in the bathroom?"

"Four hours." She replied quickly. She gathered her project in front of her, scrunching it together before turning to Erik. She placed the material in his hands. He looked at it suspiciously, "You're not going to look at what it is?"

"Oh… of course I was, I was just, uh," he smiled tightly, "Wondering what this marvellous creation was." Swallowing the saliva in his mouth, he let the material fall as he held onto the top of the long sleeved dress. The underlining material was an electric blue; feathers adorned the top of the breast line, flowing down and into a skirt. White angel wings attached to the back. "And I am still wondering what it is,"

"Don't be silly," Lucy giggled, slapping him on the shoulder, he stiffened. "It's a new dress for Angel," Erik looked pleasantly surprised. A soft barley there smile decorated his caramel face.

"That's really nice, Lucy," he smiled.

"We didn't have money for the materials, with the new house and all, so I used your pillow for the feathers," his smile dropped, "and your blanket for the dress," she smiled sweetly, "I hope you don't mind."

He looked at her in well concealed hatred, he hummed. "Did you now?" he shook his head, forcing a smile on his face, "How resourceful," he punched her on the shoulder, "Always caring about the environment, Lucy is." he raised his fist to his mouth, his eyes watering at the prospect of losing his blanket, "Even though we don't even own a recycling bin." He muttered quietly. He sobbed, refusing to let his tears fall, "Y-you're parents would be so proud."

"I'm glad you think so." He coughed.

"Well considering you've spent so much of your time working on it, it's only in our best interest to give it to her as, uh," he cleared his throat of emotion, "soon as possible." He grinned hopefully, "As in the present. Right now." Lucy scoffed,

"Don't worry, Erik," she smiled, "I've got it covered," he raised an eyebrow. "All your friends are coming 'round for dinner." He froze,

"Is that so."

"Yep," she turned around, picking up the butter knife from the table and making her way to the kitchen, "Aren't you glad you married me?"

"So glad," he whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he gazed longingly at Lucy's pillow.

* * *

"I don't know what to say," Angel had tears in her eyes as Lucy presented her gift, "It's truly beautiful, Lucy." Lucy smiled warmly, winking at the girl,

"Come on then," she took Angel's hand, "Let's go try it on." The two women left the dining room.

In sync, the remaining members of the table – Midnight, Sawyer, and Richard – turned to Erik.

"What's wrong?" Midnight asked, taking his eyes of his drink. Erik sighed,

"Lucy's gone insane,"

"She did marry you," he relied sharply, Sawyer snickered.

"The dress Angel is trying on," he started, "Is made from my bedding." Midnight and Sawyer cackled, Richard had amusement glittering in his eye.

"So what?" Sawyer said, "By some new bedding, couldn't do you any harm."

"I was locked in the bathroom for four hours while she dismantled my favourite pillow, removed the TV, packed the TV in one of the boxes surrounding us, and decided, for shits and giggles, to trap me in leave me in the confines of the bathroom with a fucking snake."

"She is merely showing her appreciation," Richard said stiffly. Midnight smirked, narrowing his eyes,

"And how exactly did you manage to get stuck in the bathroom?" Erik sighed, putting his elbow on the table and resting his head on his open hand.

"We were looking through our wedding album, had a war with each other over turning to the next page, I pulled and the first page tore. I was in there for my own protection."

"You're an–"

"How do I look?" tearing their eyes away from each other, the group stared at Angel, her silver-white hair, her cold, yet affectionate blue eyes, the beautiful dress she wore. All in all, she looked pretty great. She spun around, giggling cutely, a sickeningly sweet noise.

"You look great," she smiled,

"Thanks, Midnight," the man nodded, putting his face down on the table, discretely hiding his pink cheeks. Erik raised an eyebrow.

The group sat a little longer, talking about work, dating, in which Midnight was unusually quiet, Lucy and Erik's baby, their new house. Although, most of the talking was general bitching centred at the people they had been forced to talk to. "I'm going to the bathroom," Angel announced. They all nodded tiredly. She walked the short distance, opening the door and venturing inside.

The group continued speaking amongst themselves, Erik paused, his mouth drying, "Lucy," said woman looked at her husband expectantly, "Is the snake still in there?" Lucy looked at him dumbly, putting the pieces together slowly. She looked at the door in contemplative fear,

"Shit."

"Erik! You sick mother fucker!" Came the muffled shout from the bathroom.

* * *

Lucy sat on the lounge, typing away, her desk was cluttered with moving supplies and books, the sofa was the next best option. Erik was glaring at her from the bedroom, using her pillow instead of buying himself a new one. She thought it was ridiculous. Erik had yet to find all the little bits and pieces she had changed during her fit of anger, and his paranoia was quite amusing. The snake was now living in an abandoned fish tank at Cana's house, the two drunks had been narrowed down by elimination to house the pet. Until they moved into their new house of course.

The move in date was set a week from today, and Lucy was already stressing, hence her furiously smashing her keyboard. While Erik preferred to glower at anything and everything when he was angry, Lucy favoured writing out her frustrations until they had transferred into her work. Which she had to finish quickly unless she wanted to be fired.

Her sentence was disrupted by a knock on the door. Looking away from her computer, she sighed in distaste, glaring at the door. She made the tantalizing journey to the entrance of their soon to _not_ be house. Throwing open the door like a mad woman, Lucy stared, her eyebrows pulling. "Dad? What are you doing here?" the man sighed, looking at his daughter, his expression serious. His opening line one that couldn't ever be good:

"We need to talk." Noticing the pleading look, Lucy opened the door wider for him. Walking to the lounge room, Lucy looked around at the abundance of boxes,

"Just, make yourself at home. Sorry, Dad, it's usually tidier here, it's just been a little hectic with the move and everything," Jude smiled,

"It's quite alright, Lucy."

"Is everything OK?" she asked, "You don't normally come around." she said slowly.

"Well, I've been seeing a doctor for a while now," Erik walked out of the room, rubbing his eye,

"Mr. Heartfilia," he greeted.

"Erik," Lucy looked at her father intently,

"Are you alright?" Jude shook his head, smiling sadly,

"Far from it, actually," Lucy steadied her breathing, already feeling the anxious butterflies in her stomach. "He ran some tests, confirmed some suspicions,"

"Dad, just fucking tell me," he knew he must have heard the fear in her voice. He looked down,

"Lung cancer," Lucy sat silently, staring at her lap, Erik stiffly sat down beside her.

"Are they doing anything?" Jude looked at his daughter,

"It's too late for any treatment." She nodded, her tears falling,

"How long?" Jude hesitated,

"Six months, if that," she nodded, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"You're going to live," she told him, he shook his head, chuckling, his own eyes watering,

"Lucy, it's inevitable,"

"You're going to live to see this baby," she whispered, looking up. "You are going to be there when I have this child," tears ran down her face, her shoulders shaking, "You are going to hold this baby at least once," her voice cracked, "At least once before you're gone."

"Lucy,"

"I have lost too much to lose you too." Her voice broke off into a whisper, "You can't go," Erik gripped her hand, "Not yet."

* * *

Lucy and Erik walked into the small Doctor's Surgery, they walked to the front desk, a young girl, around thirteen or fourteen. Her long blue hair was tied in pigtails, a white doctor's coat on. "Hi, I'm Wendy, how can I help you today?" Lucy smiled at the girl,

"Hi there, we have an appointment with Porlyusica," she told the girl, "Lucy and Erik." The girl typed into the computer, a look of intense concentration held Lucy back from breaking the young girl's trance.

They stood awkwardly for a while, Wendy kept staring and clicking at the screen. She looked up smiling, "Please take a seat, she'll be with you in a moment."

The pair sat down, Lucy picked up a magazine and began to read, Erik looked over her shoulder, "You realise that's from eight months ago, right?"

"Yes Erik, I am quite aware."

"Just thought I'd check."

"Heartfilia," they looked up just in time to see the old woman scowl at them, "Come with me."

After taking measurements and asking general questions, Lucy lay on the bed as Porlyusica applied some gel to the bump. The woman stared at the machine, pressing buttons with her dominant hand while the other fiddled with the wand cord. She pressed it to the blondes stomach, the scratchy image of baby appearing.

Lucy gasped as the picture came up, she felt Erik squeeze her hand, she could feel him smiling. "There's the baby, clearly." The woman said. She shifted the wand, "The baby's hiding away, so I won't be able to tell you it's gender, but it's healthy." She continued moving the wand, doing… doctor things. "Thirteen weeks," she sighed, wiping the gel off Lucy's stomach, "You're about to start your second trimester, this is probably going to be very mellow, but, considering you didn't get morning sickness, this shouldn't be too much of a change," Lucy nodded.

Porlyusica stood, "OK, you're done here, so," she paused, finding the right words, "Get out," she snapped.

* * *

Erik stared intently at the woman behind the desk. He knew she had noticed his gaze, but, Erik soon realised, she was a master of ignoring him. Although, maybe it wasn't only him, maybe she had grown accustomed to people staring at her. The phone in the clean smelling room rang. She answered after two rings, speaking the memorised words. Every time. Erik appreciated that Kinana was consistent, but honestly, listening to the phone ring all day would make him want to throw it at the flawless wall to her right.

He had only been sitting in the waiting room for five minutes.

Mirajane Strauss walked down the narrow and long corridor, speaking quietly with two people he could only assume were another couple. She waved the group off, turning and talking to Kinana, obstructing his view of the woman.

The two were engrossed in conversation, and Erik couldn't really find it in himself to listen in.

The conversation soon came to a halt. Mira walked over to him and Lucy. She smiled warmly, "There you go again, getting bigger," she clicked her tongue, "How are you, Erik."

"Swell," she nodded. They walked through the familiar hallway, making their way into a room. The couple took their respective places on the lounge.

"How have things been?" Mira said finally, Lucy sighed, sinking back into the lounge,

"Stressful." Mira nodded.

"How so?"

"There's just been a lot going on." Erik tuned out their conversation, staring at the floor. His thoughts kept drifting back to the woman at the front desk, something about her was missing, something he craved to find out. She was a mystery to Erik, and he felt like he was somehow a large part of it. The unknown was killing him.

He looked up, Lucy was crying, Mira not far behind her. He figured she had explained what had happened with her father.

That whole dilemma was something Erik was truly worried about. Lucy had a great relationship with her father until her mother died. when she had finally escaped the loneliness her wealth brought, she had met him. Then her father had come, hoping to rekindle their relationship, and Lucy had let him in again. Lucy most times, came to regret her decision.

They were not by any chance two peas in a pod, they still cared deeply about each other. "Can I go to the bathroom," he interrupted. Mira nodded hastily.

He walked back down the halls, into the waiting area. The room was empty of patients, a woman behind the counter stopped though. She looked up, "Mr. Heartfilia, is there something I can help you with?" he reached her in four strides, he bent at the back.

"I think we know each other enough to go by a first name basis, Kinana." He tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk, "How I know you, I'm clueless, but, I know I know you." Kinana's eyes widened slightly,

"I don't understand what you mean, Erik." She said politely,

"Well that's a load of shit." She stood from her seat.

"You have an appointment, maybe you should go to it." She pointed her finger down the hall, smiling sweetly.

"I'm not leaving until I know just who you are."

"Who I am does not matter." She said quietly. Erik grabbed her wrist,

"I think I'll be the judge of that one, Zucchini." She tried pulling her hand from his grasp. He only tightened his hold. She winced. "Who are you."

"It doesn't concern you."

"Yes it does."

"You're delirious,"

"Maybe," he nodded, "but at least I'm not running."

"I am not running."

"Then tell me."

"It doesn't matter!"

"Then why can't you tell me?" he yelled back.

"Because I'm scared!" his grip loosened, "I'm scared that even when I tell you, you won't remember." He let go of her wrist entirely. Taking a step back, "That after all this time you _still_ won't remember."

"You need to tell me," she looked away. "You have to tell me," she looked at him, eyes brimming.

"It won't change anything."

"If you don't tell me then yes, nothing will change, you can sit here, ignore me staring at you whilst hiding your pain, and I die of curiosity!"

"If I tell you, it won't be me hurting, not it you remember." She whispered

"I'm sure I can handle it." She shook her head,

"You can fight, Erik, but this isn't one of those fights."

"I'm a fighter anyway."

"It doesn't work like that."

"Anything can be changed." he said softly, "But I need to know who you are." His voice turned angrier; more fierce.

"You really wanna know?" she asked. Erik nodded, she took in a breath, "I'm your sister, Erik." She smiled sadly, "The sister you forgot." Her tears ran, "The sister you left behind."

* * *

 **First and foremost, I am deeply sorry for not updating yesterday, I fell asleep halfway through writing this chapter, woke up, my laptop was dead, and had to rewrite it. But, I am glad it happened as it turned out better than what I imagined the first one to have gone.**

 **Review are appreciated.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**

 **Tomorrow will be _Raspberry,_ so look forward to it.**


	6. Raspberries

Thanks to **dragonloverpower, firequeen101, weirdunicorn101** for following.

Special thanks to **iheartpickles** for also reviewing.

* * *

 **Day 1:** Eternity

 **Day 2:** Excuses

 **Day 3:** Online

 **Day 4:** Colour

 **Day 5:** Answers

 **Day 6:** Raspberry

 **Day 7:** Energy

 _ **Bonus:**_

 **Day 8:** Aurora

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Raspberries**

Many things had failed to effect Erik. He still remembered Lucy forcing him to watch _The Fault in Our Stars_ , how he had witnessed his wife turn into a crying, slobbering mess, while, he himself, had managed not a single ounce of sympathy. Lucy had indeed called him heartless, he just thought it was too sappy. The same thing happened when they watched _The Breakfast Club_. And _Red Dog._ And _Titanic._ And _The Notebook._

However, in saying so, there were very few things that _had_. High on the list was his marriage, and the announcement of his unborn child. Both events had filled the one-eyed-man with great happiness and elation. The mere thought of them had made him smile.

More often than not, though, Erik was effected by the hardships in his life. His experiences in the mansion he had slaved in had been an emotionally and physically challenging obstacle, one that still had him gasping for air at the end of a nightmare. The particulars of those days were somewhat of a blur; he knew what had happened, the scars on his stomach and back made it hard to forget, but every detail wasn't, by any means, clear.

The confession from Kinana had stuck him painfully. A stabbing in his chest, a knot twisting in his stomach. Every scar he had had carved was throbbing and stinging. His mouth was dry, his tongue stuck in his throat.

As he stared at his proclaimed sister in the overdecorated waiting room, of which belonged to Fairy Industries and run by Mirajane Strauss, he was sure this particular event had hit high on the list. A gut feeling had him believing strongly that his time and experiences in the mansion were directly linked to Kinana, he knew his lack of memories was partially to blame for his uncertainty. "You weren't _Kinana_ were you?" she shook her head,

"No, I wasn't." Erik nodded. He searched through every memory of the entire ordeal, starting with the meeting of his closest friends. As he uncovered one memory, hundreds more appeared.

"Who were you then?" she sighed,

"Cubelios." His head pounded as more memories assaulted him, one struck him differently though.

Erik remembered running, a commotion. A blur of a fire and fighting and security, and kids thinking they were strong enough to win, only a select few who did.

The entire group – Angel, Sawyer, Richard, Midnight, and Cubelios – were staying together. Cubelios had been the youngest of them, a girl with a shoulder length purple bob, bright green – innocent – reptile like eyes, a much too thin frame supporting her.

He remembered her being the smallest, how she had lagged behind. He remembered slowing down just enough to keep with her and the rest of the group.

Then Erik remembered a beam falling. He remembered looking back, his eyes widening as Cubelios was left stranded on the other end. He remembered her haunted, defeated look of fear. How she heard the guards footsteps, chasing after them.

Erik remembered her screaming at him too keep running, that she would find a way out.

 _'Go, Erik! This won't happen again!'_

He remembered standing, how he felt all of the physical pain he had held in come rushing back, how it had escaped in a traumatised, hush breath.

 _'Goddamit! Run!'_

He remembered shaking his head, trying to move the scalding beam, only to blister his already calloused hands. He remembered telling her he wouldn't leave, he couldn't. He remembered her pleading look, the smile on her face as her tone softened.

 _'Go and get your True Freedom,'_

Erik remembered turning away after promising how he would one day come back for her. How she had grinned and said she believed in him.

Then he remembered running again.

Crying silently as he heard her screams echo through the smoked hallways.

He looked at her as she smiled, her tears free flowing. He rushed into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she froze, her breath stuttering. He squeezed her, making sure she really was there. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his eye wide, filling with tears he would later deny. "I'm so, so sorry." Kinana wrapped her arms around his shoulders, laughing a strange almost choking sound, the desk between them making a strange barrier.

"You finally came back for me, Erik." He frowned,

"I wouldn't say that."

"I'm not you." He chuckled,

"Very true." They both stayed in the embrace, squeezing each other to make sure they really were there, that the person holding them wouldn't disappear. Erik felt more memories of his time spent with his sister flood him, this time the headache wasn't there, just a cool, flowing of water that soothed him. He felt that emptiness he hadn't known the cause of get filled by Kinana. He could almost see that hole get filled, like a cavity.

Lucy had done the job of making him feel worthy years ago, but there had always been uncertainty clouding his vision. A small part of him that truly didn't know. He wondered if meeting Cubelios would have still occurred had he not met his wife. If they didn't fall for each other, had there differences, becoming expecting parents and then sought out the help of Mira, would they have still met? Would they have ever met?

As he held Cubelios, the lost, scared, yet determined, little girl from the mansion was back in his arms. He had taken back the responsibility of protecting her, the brotherly instinct he had over Angel, once a seed, had somehow grown into a blossoming flower, as if she were a light that had managed to make it grow; for everyone's benefit.

He felt Cubelios' vulnerability, and at the same time he felt Kinana's strong hold on reality; of life. Something, as her brother, he would protect.

"What the fuck is this?" Both froze, looking to Erik's right. Lucy stood still, her face morphed into one of barely contained fury.

"Before you jump–"

"Shut your fucking mouth for one second, Erik," She pointed at Kinana, "And take your hands off my husband before I turn you into a saggy prune, Lime Eyes." Kinana slowly unwound her arms from Erik, whom was still very stiff; she slowly walked around the counter.

"Mrs. Heartfilia,"

"Don't start with the Mrs. Heartfilia bullshit,"

"Lucy," she said, "please don't be jumping to conclusions." She said slowly.

Mirajane walked out of her office, stopping short at the entrance, "Oh my," she put her hand to her mouth, refraining from giggling. Lucy moved her attention back to Erik, who was rapidly blinking,

"Are you fucking her?" He made a face of disgust, cringing splendidly,

"Lucy," Mira started laughing, "Erik might have some fetishes," he froze once more, "but I don't think he's into incest,"

Lucy stared at Mirajane, blinking. She turned her gaze to Kinana, the girl looking down at the ground. She looked at Erik, blinking only once, "What?" snapping out of his stupor, Erik walked forward, placing a hand on the assistants head, smiling at her hesitantly.

"Lucy, this is my sister, Cubelios."

* * *

Lucy soon realised that two months went by fast. Her and Erik had swiftly packed up shop at their old apartment, and were settling in nicely at their new home. After the shock of having a sister-in-law, Lucy, with open arms, welcomed Kinana, or Cubelios as she was formally known, into the family.

The dinner she had organised with the assistant had been interesting, warm, and comfortable. There was no stiffness or general clutter like the parties her father was renown for making, just a peaceful evening.

Learning more about Erik's past was always intriguing to Lucy, learinging about the rest of his family's had been a welcomed surprise. Lucy remembered when she herself had run away from her childhood home. Although her reason was much more selfish unlike her husbands, she was still glad she had made the decision. If she hadn't she would be carrying the child of an old man, unworthy of the adoration she and Erik shared.

The couple restarted their appointments with Mira a short time after they had settled down in their new environment. She had suggested, with all the stress, and with Lucy's pregnancy, to relax for the benefit of everyone. And after discussing the importance of dates, they were set to have one. With each other this time. Luckily though, Mira let Lucy pick, stating, ' _she is carrying half of you, that's one and a half Erik's in her life, cut your wife some slack, let her pick the goddamn date_.' Lucy honestly worried she would fall in love with the white-haired beauty.

So there the couple sat, in a small restaurant, brunch in front of them as they made small talk. Erik played with his waffles, while Lucy cut up her bacon, dipping in in her egg yolk. "Do you want some bacon?" Erik stuffed a raspberry in his mouth,

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Lucy picked up her bacon, dipping it once more in the yolk, moving it slowly in front of him; his eyes followed it, "Still sure?"

Erik's eyes snapped to hers, he put his fork down gently on his plate, staring at her innocently, his head rested on his hands; elbows on the table. He smiled mockingly, "Lucy," she hummed,

"Yes, Erik?" she popped the piece of bacon in her mouth.

"Are you aware that you're currently chewing on a deceased animal that was hung for weeks, bleeding out, then sizzled in a frying pan until crispy." he paused, watching Lucy in satisfaction, "Crispy flesh? That's not right." Lucy's chewing slowed, her shoulders tense. "And you just dipped that into the unfertilised, unborn child of a mother hen." He smiled, "How does it make you feel knowing that's being digested as we speak?" she swallowed thickly, sneaking hand to take the berries off his plate.

"I can play that game just as well as you can, _Love_." She smiled sweetly, he raised an amused eyebrow. "For the past year and a half, I have been spiking every drink I've handed to you with bleach." She giggled, "And those 'raspberries' in your cereal," she made quotations, "They're poisonous berries I found in the yard."

Erik paled, "…are you actually trying to kill me?" Lucy sighed, looking down at the berries in her hand,

"I honestly don't think I can." He nodded,

"You're insane."

"No I'm serious, you should be dead,"

"You're delusional," he sighed, still quite pale, "I wouldn't die from chemicals." Lucy shook her head, popping in a strawberry,

"The fact that you haven't even thrown up from it is kind of incredible."

"This is not helping the situation,"

"I'm sure you must have had a pain in the throat,"

"Lucy you're the only pain in the neck I've had." She glared, getting out her phone. She quickly opened her internet app, typing away.

"See here," she coughed dramatically, " _Symptoms range from gagging, pain and irritation in the mouth and throat; pain and possible burns in the oesophagus and stomach; vomiting; and shock can appear right away to within a few hours. If you don't treat the symptoms immediately, you can permanently damage your gastrointestinal tract and internal organs – and, depending on how much you drink, you could die._ "

"You weren't joking at Mira's were you?"

"When?"

"When you said you were going to murder me." Lucy furrowed her eyebrows,

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

* * *

"Liam," Erik said.

"No, it's going to be a girl."

"Noah,"

"It hasn't changed genders, Erik." Lucy sighed.

"Ethan."

"Yep, still a girl, I can feel this shit, Erik."

"Lucas."

"Emma." She challenged,

"Mason."

"Ava."

"Patrick."

"Mia."

"Nicolas."

"Sarah."

"Lachlan."

"Olivia."

"Dylan."

"Charlotte."

"Christopher."

"Allison." Erik groaned,

"It's a boy!"

"It's a girl!" Lucy shot back.

"Boy,"

"Girl,"

"Boy,"

"Girl,"

"Boy,"

"Girl,"

"Boy,"

"Girl,"

"Boy,"

"Girl,"

"WOULD YOU BOTH SHUT THE FUCK UP!" the couple turned to the groaning Cana, the brunette pushing herself up from the couch. "Have you ever heard of a hangover? Please," she rubbed her temples, drinking the glass of water set out on the table, "Shut your mouths for one second." They obeyed the woman for only a moment.

"You should do the ring test." Bacchus said, walking in from the kitchen, handing his wife a tablet. Erik raised an eyebrow,

"The ring test?" The tall man nodded.

"You get your wedding ring, put in on a string, hang it over your belly, if it swings forward and back, you're having a boy, if it swings in a circle, a girl." They nodded.

Lucy breathed in and out, clutching the piece of rope they had taken from a broken picture frame tightly in her hand. Her and Erik's rings hanging from the bottom of the string. She looked at Erik and back over to Cana, then at Bacchus. She lifted the her hand above her stomach, watching as the rope swung towards her then swiftly away from her.

"YES!" Erik cackled, "It's a boy, I was right!" he started a happy dance. Cana snatched the rings, pulling them off the thread and throwing Erik's at him.

"Now we do the key test."

"The key test?"

"The key test."

Cana sat Lucy at a table, a house key in front of her. "Pick up the key." Lucy frowned,

"Why?"

"Just pick up the key!" nodding quickly, Lucy grabbed the rounded edge of the key, picking it up. Cana sighed, "Guess you are having a boy."

"What do you mean?"

"If the woman pregnant picks its centre, she's having twins," Lucy flinched, Cana narrowing her eyes at the pained look on Lucy's face. "If you pick the key up by the round bit, you're having a boy, and if you pick it up by the end, you're having a girl." She pointed to Lucy's stomach. "You, my precious, are having a boy." Lucy groaned,

"Don't look so depressed." Erik nudged her side. "I'm sure you'll only resent this child for a little bit." She glared.

"I will not resent this child, I just didn't want to lose to the means of _you_." Erik put a hand to his heart,

"How you wound me." Lucy grumbled unintelligently. "Let's not get defensive, Lucy Dearest."

* * *

"Lucy, you're six months pregnant, would you please slow down." Erik chased Lucy around the baby department. His wife's eyes had never been quite so wide. She picked up a bib.

"Come on, Erik, I has to be a girl."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes, it does, because if it isn't, then we can't buy this." Erik walked over; the bib was white, the border pink, the letters in cursive reading, ' _Daddy's Little Girl_.' He smiled softly. He forced the grin down.

"This is why we should have gotten the cranky old bat–"

"Porlyusica,"

"Whatever her name is, to tell us what we're having, that way we wouldn't be having this debate in the middle of Target." Lucy pouted,

"Surprises are good."

"Since when?" She bit her lip,

"Lots of times."

"Name one," she thought for some time before looking at him smugly.

"When we met." He raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"When you decided to get into a fist fight and run away from the police."

"I'm not following,"

"Okay, well," she sighed, "did you expect to meet your future wife at knife point when you decided I was the perfect candidate for a lift?" she hummed, "What was that?" she put her hand to her ear, "Surprises, you say?" She gasped, "I thought so too."

"I think it was dumb luck." She shook her head in disapproval.

"I think it was Fate and Destiny playing with us." She smiled, running her hands over a one-piece. "I think it was eventually bound to happen."

"I think you're wrong." Lucy raised an eyebrow,

"So you don't think that there was a reason you got into that fight."

"He took my chair."

"And why was that your chair?"

"Because I always sat there."

"But why, Erik, did you sit there?"

"Because it was the first place I sat when I went to that bar, I liked it?" his reason sounded more like a question.

"Why did you grow a fondness to it though?" she asked, "Was it because of the quiet atmosphere? You were surrounded by people you could trust, that you were relatively safe. Was it all those things you had never found in the mansion that made you choose that exact seat?" he remained silent, Lucy took a step towards him, wonder in her eyes. "Was it that street you ran down because it held the café you bought your first coffee? The first time you had a taste, a sip even, of warm freedom. The freedom you had longed since you left Cubelios." She was a hairs breath away from him, "But the most important question, Erik, _why did you pick my car_? Out of the thousands of cars you could have picked, why did you pick the car I was in?" She smiled, "What was so important, so significant, that you picked that car?" He looked at her through his one purple eye, interest and awe dancing around the surface. "That, Erik, was Fate and Destiny." She prodded his stomach, smiling softly, "Not dumb luck." He smiled,

"You're crazy."

"Our whole lives are interconnected, that one decision you made yesterday, two years ago, on your first birthday. Every single one of those choices is either Fate or Destiny, working from above, making sure something happens, or something doesn't. That is something we have no control over." They continued walking through the store.

"Fate or Destiny?" Lucy looked at him quizzically,

"Is what?"

"This baby, was it Fate or Destiny?" she smiled.

"Neither." He looked at her in curiosity,

"What was it then?" She smiled softly, looking up to her husband, whispering,

"It was Hope."

* * *

 **I apologise for the very late chapter, if any of the readers here are Australian, you will understand the incompetence of Telstra. So I have been days without internet.**

 **Anyway, this chapter had a two month time skip at the start there and then another one month time skip towards the end there. This is the shortest chapter so far, so I am also going to apologise for that.**

 **Reviews are appreciated.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**

 **Tomorrow _will_** **be _Energy_ so look forward to it.**


	7. Energy

**Wow, oh my gosh it's been so long since i updated this.**

 **I apologise but theres time to celebrate because i just broke a two year writers block!**

 **(The final chapter will definitely be out tomorrow)**

* * *

 **.Energy.**

"Erik,"

"What?"

"Erik, I can't get up."

"What do you mean you can't–" he turned, stopping, his eyebrows raising, he smacked his lips together. A very pregnant Lucy was sunken into the lounge.

"I need assistance."

He bit down on his lip. "Your neck seems to have disappeared."

She whimpered, "I feel like a mother turtle."

"I'm not sure I should help you."

"Why?" she seethed, glaring.

"Because it's not every day you see Uncle Fester."

"Don't bring the Addams Family into this!"

He raised his hands in defeat, chuckling, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Here," he held his arms out to her, she sluggishly grabbed onto him, he leant back, pulling her up. Before he could react Lucy let go of his hands, laughing loudly as he fell onto the carpeted floor. She hobbled off the lounge, walking away.

"That's what you get for calling me Uncle Fester, asswipe."

Erik pulled himself off the floor, "You're eight months pregnant, Lucy, you shouldn't be able to abuse me like this,"

Lucy scoffed, pouring herself a glass of orange juice, "Suck it up, princess." She raised the orange juice to her mouth, pausing and frowning. In dismay, she put the glass on the counter.

"What's wrong with it?"

Lucy sighed, "Smells bad."

Erik blinked, "It smells bad?"

Lucy nodded dejectedly. She tapped her fingers on the kitchen counter, thinking to herself. She turned towards the fridge, took out a carton of milk and poured it into the orange juice glass.

Erik watched in a mixture of disgust and intrigue as she took a spoon, stirred the concoction, and sipped it back. When she sighed in happiness, Erik felt himself gag. "What the fuck is wrong with you,"

Lucy laughed, holding out the drink, "You should try it, it's not that bad."

Erik shook his head, backing away, "Not a fucking chance, Lucy."

"Why not?"

Erik grimaced, "Because, thankfully, my hormones aren't all out of whack and I don't crave the vitamins I need."

Lucy sulked, "Lucky to be you then."

He watched Lucy drink her milky orange juice for a moment before he looked away in disgust. _Fucking pregnant women.._

"Have you spoken to your dad about everything?"

The mood in the room changed as quickly as Erik had intended it to. He didn't like bringing up Jude's declining health, but it was important considering the last time Erik saw him he was on death's door.

Lucy nodded, "Yeah we met up a few weeks ago and sorted everything out,"

Erik nodded, not at all upset that his wife hadn't mentioned it. He never met his parents, never saw them at their happiest nor their saddest, there was really no point to him brooding over that fact – but for Lucy, who had that relationship with her parents, losing her dad was harder for her then she would ever admit to.

Lucy froze. She stared down at her stomach, frowning. Erik watched her eyes widen impossibly large. She tensed, and Erik stepped forward further, watching in concern. He was paranoid, and who wouldn't be? They had already lost one child, one child that would never see the world. That emptiness was enough for him to know he didn't want to suffer the same pain. He, despite his lack of shits given, didn't want anyone to have the same empty look of utter hopelessness Lucy had.

His subconscious hadn't liked it either, his dreams had turned to nightmares of Lucy, her dull, lifeless eyes silently screaming at him while her hands got steadily bloodier. He still caught her staring at her rounded stomach with the deep emptiness, but a growing love was blooming below the surface.

Lucy looked at him, the brown depths he would recognised a mile away grew bigger, wider. He briefly thought she could rival the viral cat video he had seen earlier that day. "Is everything OK?"

Lucy smiled, a contagious thing as Erik soon found himself grinning too. "What is it?" He asked.

Lucy moved to the side of the counter, she turned to him, taking hold of her shirt and pulling it up to expose her stomach, "She's stretching,"

"He." Erik grinned, Lucy took her hands away. She smiled at him as he pressed firmly. "Do you feel that?"

Lucy looked at her husband like the idiot he was, she nodded. She could definitely feel a child wriggling under her skin.

Erik concentrated on the movement of her stomach, watching the skin move and shape around his baby's limbs. Keeping his attention on his and his wife's growing baby, his hands smoothed over her stomach, stopping on the sides of Lucy; he stared at her stomach in wonder.

A light thud had him blink down at his hands. Another thud had him looking up to his smiling his wife, his own smile stretching across his face. He laughed softly.

"She's gonna be strong, she's already trying to beat you up."

"Yes _he_ will." Erik corrected.

"She."

"He."

"She."

Erik grinned, looking at Lucy with his hands still on her protruding stomach. "You're amazing."

Lucy blinked, scoffing, "What?"

"You're amazing." He repeated.

Lucy shifted, raising her eyebrows in a way that spoke 'Really, I never knew..'. "How so?"

"You created something I can love more than you."

"Cheesy." She noted.

"I'm serious," he paused, looking at her in gratitude. "Thank you."

"Erik,"

"Yes, Lucy,"

"Fifty percent of this baby is you. Now, we all know you love yourself, but that's taking it too far."

"Let's hope not." Lucy giggled at him, Erik grinned, "Like ninety percent me, ten percent you." Lucy glared, Erik smirked, "Otherwise we'll have a kid in the loony bin at age three."

" _But_ ," she dragged out, "If she's ninety percent you, we're gonna have a daughter in _prison_ at age three."

"Firstly, he, secondly, son." Lucy rolled her eyes. "But I guess if we have a kid with fifty, fifty they'll just be in the psych ward of a prison."

Lucy laughed a bubbling infectious thing. Erik laughed along with her. She snorted, a pig's noise resounding in the small living room. Erik looked at her pausing, before pointing and laughing at her laugh. Wheezing at her, and she at him, Erik curled his body, clutching his stomach. Lucy laughed more,

"Are you ok?" She gasped.

"Stomach cramps," he inhaled air like a fish. Lucy laughed; she stood shaking her head. He calmed himself, chuckling lightly, "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting dressed, Erik." She held back her grin.

"Why?"

"Because I've been in my pyjamas all day,"

"And?"

"And I don't want to look like an idiot in public. Unlike you, I would like to be taken seriously." He stared at her blankly,

"How you wound me." She smiled smugly,

"I aim to please."

Erik shook his head, still smiling. For the first time in a long time, Erik was happy to have her by his side.

* * *

Erik had read all the baby books. He knew what he was to expect, what he should be aware of what to look out for. It was a simple list of symptoms and situations that he should be wary of. When Lucy told him she was having stomach pains, yes he was concerned, but he had simply thought it was normal – especially when Lucy had told him not so nicely that she hadn't taken a shit in three days.

When Lucy seemingly wet herself while they were cuddling, it took him a solid ten seconds to realise that, no, his wife had not pissed himself, and, yes, his wife was unaware that her water had broken.

Erik let his eyes stray from the television, resting on the top of his wife's head, "Lucy," she hummed, "I am wet."

Lucy cackled, her shoulders shaking, "I thought that was my job,"

"I'm hoping that it's urine and not my son announcing his arrival."

Lucy stiffened, "What are you talking about?"

Erik shifted, pulling Lucy up, he stared into his eyes, "Lucy you're water just broke on me and those 'constipation cramps' are contractions."

Lucy stared at him blankly, then after a long pause of silence and thinking, her eyes popped wide open, "Shit!"

She jumped from the couch, and Erik was quick to follow her. He grabbed the hospital bag they had packed on a whim yesterday afternoon, changed his pants, and found Lucy grabbing her last minute things. They were walking to the car when she stopped, ground her teeth and squeezed his hand with the strength of a thousand men, and virtually threw herself into the passenger seat.

"Are you ok?" Erik asked.

Lucy breathed through her nose, "Yep, perfectly fine," he watched her wince.

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhmm,"

"You – you just don't look too great, that's all."

"Erik." He looked at her and then quickly back at the road. He looked back again when they hit a red light, "Shut the fuck up."

Erik nodded, "Shutting the fuck up, time to be quiet. Quiet time, I love quiet time, time to be quiet, no no no no no no no noise! None. Quiet–"

"Erik!"

He shut his mouth. Erik wouldn't admit to freaking out, but in his head he was fully aware of every thought he was having. There was the very real possibility that she would die – this had his lips chewed until there was virtually nothing left of them. There was also the thought of having a still born baby – which was unlikely but not unheard of. Then there was the thought of something being wrong with his son, which sent him spiralling to another zone of frenzy.

Erik was on such an adrenaline filled mission to transport his wife to the hospital that he didn't realise they had arrived until they were in their own room. Lucy was relatively calm, but Erik could barely form a coherent thought, he was sure Lucy was probably freaking out on the inside, but kept a lid on it. He wished he had the same ability. When Lucy screamed at him to get Cana, he did not care for the time and interrupted her sleep at three in the morning.

He had never heard Cana sober up so quickly.

The brunette arrived at the hospital no more than ten minutes later, rushed straight into the room and when Lucy had her best friend's hand clutched in her right hand and Erik's in her left, she decided it was time to get this over with.

Lucy found the pain was a thousand times worse than any sick and horrid expectation she had given herself.

At three hours in, she was sure getting cut in two – horizontal or vertical, it didn't matter at this point – would be less painful. Erik was telling her to breathe, and if it weren't for Cana, she was sure she would have magically summoned the butter knife from her kitchen wall and stabbed his other eye.

Porlyusica arrived in the nick of time and was there while Lucy was screaming at the top of her lungs. When they reached the eight hour point of labour, and the baby's shoulders were on their way, Lucy almost puked from the pain. If not for the fact that Erik's hand was there for the squeezing, she would have lost her cookies all over the floor.

Everything hurt at that point. She knew she was crying, she could feel every muscle in her body straining and seizing, sweat was pouring down her face and she had zero thoughts about grinding all of her teeth away. She couldn't hear her own screaming, couldn't hear what Erik or Porlyusica was saying. She could feel everything in her body trying to get her baby out.

Then there was a release of her entire body and silence. Lucy was panting when she heard her baby's scream echo through the room. Erik was still holding her hand, looking at the life in Porlyusica's hands, Lucy's eyes were there too. Both waiting, watching.

Porlyusica smiled, "It's a girl!"

Lucy was handed her daughter and instantly the pain all the pain disappeared. Love bloomed in her chest immediately and she looked into the eyes that all of the women in her family had, watched them blink at her. Lucy was looking at the most beautiful thing in the world. Cana excused herself but neither Lucy nor Erik paid her any mind.

Erik pulled the seat up next to her and stared at his daughter. She was gorgeous. She was Lucy's eyes and face, he just hoped that she got his hair. "You did it Lucy," he was breathless. His daughter was everything he imagined and more.

Lucy smiled, despite her lack of energy and slumped body. "I told you she was a girl,"

Erik scoffed, smiling, "I always knew."

"Mmhmmm," Lucy looked at Erik, "How do you feel about Arora?" she was whispering – Erik figured she didn't have the strength to speak.

"Like the princess?"

"Like the princess."

Erik smiled, looking at his sleeping daughter, "It's perfect."

* * *

A week after their daughter's birth, Erik and Lucy were at home with all the people they cared about. Lucy was seated with the Seis and Cana and Bixlow, her dad was standing and talking to Kinana.

Erik watched Jude as he held Arora; the man was thin and frail, white as a ghost and had a terrible cough that made him excuse himself from the room more than once.

He put Arora back in her bassinet and walked to Erik. "We need to have a talk."

Erik nodded at the man, leading him out the front of his house and onto their front veranda and to the porch swing. Jude sat to Erik's left and they both sat and stared at the stars. It took Jude a few minutes to get his breath back and find the words he wanted to say.

"I know I haven't been the most accepting of you Erik." Erik did not look at the man. Didn't have the heart, or the guts, to tell the man that that was a severe understatement. "But I'm glad you and my daughter found each other. You're good for her, I think."

"She's good for me too, Sir."

Jude sighed. "I never got the chance to make things right with Lucy, and I doubt I ever will… But I want you to do me a favour, Erik. I want you to take care of my daughter… more than that I want you to promise me something."

Erik gulped, still not looking away from the night sky.

"I want you to promise me that if something ever happens to Lucy you won't give up on that girl. Us men seem to think that when we lose one thing, we lose everything,"

Erik looked at the man when he laughed and promptly started coughing, "It certainly seems that way doesn't it?" Erik didn't flinch when Jude pulled away a bloodied handkerchief.

Jude nodded at Erik's comment, "Just remember that it's not over, that whatever happens, you'll always have that girl. Remember that and you'll be the best father you can be."

Erik watched the man, there was a heaviness in his gut, one he didn't like.

"You're a smart man, Erik, don't make the same mistakes I did."

They sat in silence, staring out past the porch and past the yard, high above the tree that planted itself in Erik's front yard.

Erik didn't count the minutes, he didn't move when Jude started coughing again. He watched in a trance when he saw something that he knew shouldn't logically be possible. A woman seemed to appear, her hair was the same golden as his wife's, the eyes the same as Lucy's and their daughter's. She held her hands out to Jude and Erik watched the man take them.

" _Oh, Layla,_ " it was whispered, cutting through every other sound Erik could hear, it sent shivers coursing through his body. He watched Jude stand, but his body stayed in the same place. He watched the woman's eyes as they flickered to Erik. She smiled softly, her lips mouthing a 'thank you'.

Erik watched them disappear and he was left staring at the stars. He watched one seemingly appear, stared at it until the tears had stopped falling from his eye and the cold of the body next to him became unbearable. Erik stood and went inside, he looked at his wife, stared at her until she looked up and her own eyes widened. No one said a word, not a sound was made.

Erik held her tight against him and knew this was where he wanted to be. Knew that this was where he wanted to be for the rest of his life. Erik realised in that moment that magic existed.

* * *

 **It's shorter than I wanted it to be, but ta-da, thank you for everyone who takes the time to read this :)**

 **Salvation and Start Again by Gabrielle Aplin gave me huge inspiration so thank those songs.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**


	8. Aurora

**Last chapter 3**

* * *

 **.Aurora.**

Erik stared at the TV, one of the things in his life that hadn't changed. His daughter was next to him, a blanket wrapped tightly around her body, her knees pressed to her chest in an attempt to keep warm.

Much like her father.

She turned her head, looking at her dad quietly, her expression sombre. He met her gaze with an arched eyebrow, "What's wrong?" he asked somewhat cautiously.

She bit her lip, her eyes watering, her voice hoarse, "I just miss her so much,"

Erik sighed, moving closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, kissing her hair softly. "I know, baby, I miss her too."

He looked at the photo frame on the table, Lucy and Erik in the background as a teenager with maroon hair took a selfie.

The epitome of happiness.

"Has it really been a year?" she asked quietly. Erik nodded. "It doesn't feel like a year," she whispered.

"No it doesn't," he turned the TV off, facing her. He stared at the blank TV, his daughter's gaze resting on the grey as well. "I want you to go and get some shoes on, there's something I want to show you."

"I have homework."

Erik shrugged, "I'll write you a note."

He watched her as she stood, sighing, wiping her tears and ventured into the room he and Lucy had once furiously decorated.

He too sighed.

She walked into the living area a short time later, her feet covered. She gazed at him, wanting answers, but Erik wouldn't give them to her. Erik ushered her out of the house, turning the front light on and locking the door. He sat in the car, the fifteen year old doing the same.

"Where are we going, Dad?"

He smiled at her deviously, sadly. "It's a secret," he reversed out of the drive way, watching his daughter purse her lips.

"That's not fair." She whined.

He smirked. "I don't care,"

"Heartless." She grumbled, Erik laughed heartily.

The trip to their unknown destination was lengthy. The sun had long since gone down, the stars twinkling and shining brightly. "Can you tell me where we're going now?"

"No."

"How far off are we?"

"Not far,"

Arora sighed staring out the window. "Where are we?"

Erik grinned cheekily, "In a car."

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Where's the car?"

He turned a corner, "On a road."

"What road?"

He looked at her through the corner of his eye. "One that allows the transportation of cars."

"Can you tell me its name?"

"No."

She whined, sulking, "Why not?"

"Because it's a surprise."

They pulled over, the car engine turning off. "Come on, it's around here."

She stood from the vehicle, following her father cautiously, "If you sell me to some gang, I swear to God," she didn't finish.

Erik looked at her, mocking hurt. "How could you think lil' old me could do such a thing?" she rolled her eyes, smiling. "You're going to a organ dealer instead, I can make more selling individual little bits of you." He shrugged. She gaped at him in horror. He laughed. "Just kidding."

"Dick…" she mumbled.

Erik turned to her sharply, his feet scratching leaves as he turned. "Watch it young lady."

She rolled her eyes, following after him as he lead her deeper into the shrubbery. "Are we going to your cabin in the woods, Dad?" Arora paused her strides when he threw an arm out, gesturing to the clearing, a large space in top of a hill, nothing around it, just land. She walked forward slowly. Her dad walked past her, sitting roughly on the ground. He pat the ground next to him.

She sat down, glaring at him, "Are you gonna tell me where I am now or is it still a surprise?"

He rolled his eyes immaturely, "This is where I proposed to your mother."

She frowned, "Why here, why not a restaurant?"

He shrugged, "Couldn't afford it."

"Of course," she shook her head. "So why here?"

He looked at her, something unknown shining defiantly in his eye. "Because this is where magic was created." Her eyebrows creased, her lips tugging downwards. He looked at her smiling, she mentally stepped back, as a sadness she hadn't ever seen took over his eye. He moved his hand to his mouth, blowing, a loud whistle resounding around them.

"What do you mean?"

He only looked wistfully ahead. She followed his gaze, her breath hitching, her eyes widening.

Colours danced across the sky, green, blue, faint traces of pink, like dancers ribbons. She watched them swirl and spin, mesmerised. "The Northern Lights." She whispered.

"Also known as the Aurora Borealis,"

"Really?" he nodded.

They sat silently, each admiring the view. "I think your mother named you after this place, you know?" she looked at him, surprised. "The spelling's different, but the idea's still there." Arora looked back at the lights, their positions still changing.

"Why?" he smiled.

"Because when two different things, things from different worlds, meet, it creates something beautiful," he looked at her. She felt the familiar sting of tears. "I was a slave, and your mother, well; she was from the type of family that would buy me."

Arora nodded. "I think I heard her mention it a few times." She whispered, smiling.

"When we met," he turned his head back to her, " a connection was already there, we took it for granted." He shook his head, laughing, "And then you came along, Arora, and you gave us hope." A tear leaked out of her eye, she looked up, blinking it back, hastily wiping at it with her sleeve. "I was happy," he looked ahead again, "Your mother was happy."

She smiled, "She always was."

She looked up at the stars, memories of her mother pointing out the constellations flashed in her mind. She looked at them smiling, "Sometimes I worry I'm gonna forget what she looks like," another tear spilled, she made no attempt to discard it, "I worry I'm going to forget what her laugh sounded like, that if I heard it somewhere I wouldn't recognise it." Her lips trembled, she hugged herself tighter. "I'm so scared that a day will go past and I won't think of her once, that one day I'm going to forget her voice when she sung lullabies to me. I am so petrified that I'm going to forget her."

"You won't forget her." Erik said softly.

"How can you be so sure?"

He laughed, "Because she would kick you so far up the ass it'd jog your memory." She laughed, her voice cracking.

"People come from all over the world to see the Aurora," she nodded, her brain slowly processing the double meaning. "Because seeing it makes people feel something extraordinary,"

 _"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Lucy yelled, she smiled, her teeth a crystal white, "What did my beautiful baby get?"_

 _"It's a doll! It's a DOLL!" Arora ran to her mother's arms, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"_

"Your mother always used to say there was magic in this world, you know?" Arora nodded at her dad's words, her eyes focussed on the colours in front of her eyes. "I never really believed her, you know?"

Arora laughed dryly, rubbing away her tears, "It doesn't really surprise me, Dad."

 _"I think there used to be magic in this world," Lucy put the book down, pulling the sheet over her and her daughter's body, "I think it was everywhere, and it was beautiful and people helped others with it."  
_ _"Really?"  
Her mother hummed, __"There is so much about this world we don't know, there are endless possibilities, Rori," she smiled. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."_

"But the day your Grandpa died, I think I started believing,"

"What do you mean?"

Erik sighed, "He told me that if anything happened to Lucy, I had to promise him that I wouldn't forget about you – I guess he didn't want me to make the same mistakes that he did. Now that I think about it, maybe he knew what was coming."

Arora frowned, feeling angry all of a sudden, "Why didn't he tell you then?"

 _"They won't stop, can't you do something?" Arora screamed, frustrated tears ran down her face._

 _"No, sweetie, I can't."_

 _"Why not? You're my mother aren't you? This is your job!"_

 _"If I intervene they will think your weak, you're not weak, Arora, you are stronger than you will ever know."_

 _"Why are you yelling at me?"_

 _"You broke her nose!"_

 _"You said I was strong!"_

 _"That's not what I meant!"_

 _"Well clarify what you mean then!"_

 _"I thought you had common sense!"_

Erik looked at his daughter's furrowed brows, the same look Lucy would get when he inevitably pissed her off. Erik pursed his lips, "When you live in fear, Rori, you don't live – you become consumed by fear and then you can't feel anything else."

"I saw your Grandma, you know?" he frowned, "She had died when your mother was little but there was no mistaking it – she was the splitting image of Lucy." He felt the same goosebumps prickle over his skin when he brought back the memory, "She reached out for your Grandpa and I watched him reach out for her."

Arora remained silent.

"Then she looked at me and told me thank you." Erik coughed away the sting of tears. "I had no idea what she meant – I still don't – but then I went inside and I was holding Lucy and-" Erik shook his head, sighing. "She was devastated."

"What happened next?" Arora whispered.

"I held her and I looked over her shoulder and I saw you – and that was when I knew magic was real."

 _"Arora," her mother started. She sat down on her bed, "We need to have a talk."  
_

 _"Tell me you won't leave me,"_

 _"I promise I won't leave you,"_

Her father looked at her, love clouding his vision, "Every time that belief starts to waver, all I have to do it look at you,"

All the emotions she had held back flooded her, escaping through her eyes, she sobbed, crying out, staring at the stars, the lights, at the world.

"Your mother would be so proud of you."

 _She sat on the hospital bed, watching the woman she had been born to love. Her mother looked weak, frail; her hands were bonier than ever, her cheeks sunk. Her eyes remained the same lively brown, full of love as she stared at her daughter, braiding her hair. She smiled. "All done."_

 _"You're not gonna make it this time, are you?" Lucy shook her head,_

 _"I want to, baby, so much." She whispered, "But I have to leave."_

 _"You promised,"_

 _"I know, baby, but it's important to know some promises can't be kept." She smiled, "Ask your father." She laughed, the sound was cheery, yet still weak. Arora pat her back as she started coughing._

 _She stared into her eyes. "I don't want you to go," she said, "I don't want you to go." She saw the life draining from her eyes. The woman smiled,_

 _"Cross my heart, hope to die,"_

 _Stick a needle in my eye." Her breathing shallowed,_

 _"Break my promise,_

 _Tell a lie." She kissed her forehead,_

 _"Save my friend," Arora whimpered, joining her mother,_

 _"Though maybe it's bye."_

 _She watched as her mother blinked eternally, her eyes closing perpetually._

"Dad," She scrubbed away her tears, "What promise did you break?"

He frowned before laughing, shaking his head. "I bought your mother low fat yoghurt." He said. Arora blinked, tears popping free with the movement. "She told me never to do it again. _Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye_." He laughed once more, "I bought it again, she didn't have a needle," he sighed, "apparently a butterknife would do."

"The one on the wall?" he nodded, "Oh, God." She paled. "Dad,"

"Yeah,"

"For shits and giggles I may have swapped it,"

"…what?"

"That knife you use for steak…"

"Jesus Christ."

She turned her head, "I thought you were the ruthless one."

"Dead wrong."

She stared at the scar, "Now keep an open mind," she said, "But I think you look way more badass with one eye." She watched her father's face change, he looked at her expressionlessly, and for the first time in her life, he cried. It wasn't loud and dramatic, not even quiet sniffles, he just looked ahead, his tears falling for the first time in years.

She looked at sky one more, the stars seemed brighter; she decided the colours complemented them. She turned to her Dad, "Do you think she's watching?"

Erik turned his head, staring into the eyes his wife had given to their child. The eyes he fell in love with all those years ago. He smiled, and looked at the star that appeared the day his wife passed.

"Every second of every day."

 ** _.THE END._**

* * *

 **Wow, finally done, free of guilt from this story xD**

 **Hope you all enjoyed it as much as i procrastinated writing it**

 **Until next time :)**

 **~MyFictionalFantasy**


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